We Found Love
by Dranny
Summary: In the middle of what is sure to be the end of the world, can two people really find love or is it already too late? A Zombie au.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to anyone reading this. This is a Glee apocalypse story. No it's a Glee Brittana apocalypse story. Wait no it's a Glee Brittana Apocalypse LOVE story. Because no matter the situation Brittana is love! All mistakes are mine. It's been a while since I'v tried writing anything :D**

Summary: In the middle of what is sure to be the end of the world, can two people really find love or is it already too late?

Brittany Pierce was always a little on the naïve side. She knew it. Her friends and family knew it. But now, sitting inside a barricaded mall with her friends and cheerleading coach as their makeshift leader, she was beginning to wonder if just maybe she wasn't that far off with her theories on unicorns and other "fake" creatures because really, who would have predicted a zombie apocalypse? Zombies were something you read about in books, or watched on TV late at night or during Halloween, or played on Xbox. No one thought they were real either. Bet they wished that it was her unicorns that were real now. She wasn't a malicious person, far from it, but she got a lot of satisfaction from that last thought.

Looking around at the tired faces of her friends, she quietly studied them and thought of the events that brought them here. They were on their way back from sectionals a few states over. They won. Not that it mattered now but still. They were on such a high from their victory, and Rachel's somewhat motivational speech, that it took a while for them to notice that their bus was the only vehicle on the road. When Puck interrupted Rachel's impromptu solo to point out the otherwise empty highway, everyone got nervous. Not that they would show it, but the sudden silence and alertness gave it away.

Mr. Schue and coach Sylvester seemed to be having a hushed conversation at the front. It was a bit creepy to watch. Not only because they hated each other like the plague, but also because for the first time, Brittany thought she saw a line of worry on her coach's forehead. When Sue Sylvester was worried you better be worried too. Rachel and Mercedes had tried calling their parents to ask if something had happened but they got no answer. The others followed soon after and still no reply. Brittany figured it was pointless for her to try but figured it would look weird if she didn't, so she did and like the others got no response. When they passed the first abandoned car, they slowed to see if anyone was inside but there was no one. The keys were still in the ignition and the tank was full so it was unlikely the person ran out of gas. Mr. Schue had urged coach Sylvester to get them home as soon as possible. When she did as she was asked, everyone knew the situation was serious.

When they had pulled up to the school where their parents were supposed to be waiting to take them home, they were met with emptiness. No cars in sight. No lights. No sound. It was eerie. When Mercedes shakily asked Mr. Schue what was going on, for once he didn't try to sugarcoat his answer or even deflect. When he said he didn't know and Coach Sylvester said she didn't know either, everyone got a little hysterical. Tina was crying in the back. Kurt was saying something in a slightly higher pitch than normal so Brittany hadn't understood what he was saying. Mercedes was praying. And the others were just talking over each other in their panic. When Mr. Schue had yelled at everyone to be quiet so they could come up with a plan, that's when they had heard it. The sound that would define their lives from then on. It was a moan. It sounded at first like a dying animal. Or an animal in pain. Definitely not something you would associate with a human.

Coach Sylvester and Mr. Schue had told the kids to stay inside the bus while they went to see what the sound was. Brittany wasn't the smartest in the group, and she loved animals and hated to see them in pain, but even she knew that wasn't such a great idea at all. But everyone had nodded so she just shrugged. They had watched the two adults disappear into the darkness, hoping that it was just an animal, and also hoping that they found other people. Puck had gone to lock the doors as a precaution against what, they didn't know. That had just made everything scarier. It was only five minutes after the adults had left that they saw coach Sylvester running back to the bus. Without Mr. Schue. Puck was quick to open the doors for her, and it was only after she had jumped in and sped out of the parking lot that anyone thought to ask the obvious question. When Rachel asked for Mr. Schue, coach Sylvester told them point blank that zombies had gotten him. Everyone had laughed after a few seconds of silence, sure they were being punked. When coach just looked at them through the rear view mirror with no hint of laughter on her face it wasn't so funny anymore. It certainly wasn't funny when they saw two figures ambling awkwardly up the road they were speeding. Mercedes had screamed at the coach to stop but she had kept going until she ran them over. Everyone had screamed and Puck asked if she was crazy. When she told them those weren't people they were zombies everyone started to panic even more. By then they knew she was serious.

It was convenient that they all lived relatively close to each other, so when Coach Sylvester had made the turn that would take them to the street they lived, they were all grateful. By then everyone was thinking of their families. They had made sure the street was clear before slowly making their way out of the bus. When coach was the last to exit, she had a shot gun in her hand. She had looked at me and just said it had been for would be robbers that would try to steal their trophy. It was all the explanation Brittany needed. They all made their way to their different houses and in retrospect that wasn't the most brilliant plan, but they weren't exactly mentally prepared for a zombie apocalypse.

Walking into her house, she had felt uneasy. It was too silent. In the Pierce household, even at night, there was always something playing. A radio on. The TV playing some late night talk show. Her dad strumming his old guitar. But there was nothing. She had flipped the lights, only to see everything was how she left it. When she heard a thump from upstairs, everything screamed at her to leave. To run back to where coach Sylvester was waiting for them. But she couldn't. She had to see if her parents were ok. If her little sister was ok. So with her heart pounding loudly in her ears she had made her way up the stairs. She went to check for her little sister first. When she had opened the door and had seen the empty bed, she wasn't sure if she had felt relief or more apprehension. She had quietly checked the closet and under the bed to make sure Summer wasn't hiding but had come up empty.

Next she made her way to her parents room. The quiet dread she had begun to feel earlier had seemed to multiply. Her instincts were really screaming at her to turn back before it was too late. But she couldn't do that. She had to be sure. So pushing the door quietly, she stepped into the room and what she saw would stay with her for the rest of her life. Her father covered in blood, standing over her unmoving mother. Upon closer inspection Brittany had seen the bite marks on the side of her mother's neck but at the time hadn't know what it meant. She had backed away slowly so as not to draw attention to herself. She may not have known what the bites meant but she knew she had to get out of there. There was nothing she could do for her parents. Backing slowly away from the door she had made her way back downstairs intent on getting out of that house, but a squeak from the kitchen had stopped her in her tracks.

She had debated on the wisdom of stopping or even turning back, but something had compelled her to check. So with a quick glance to the empty staircase she had hurriedly made her way over to the kitchen, checking under the counters and inside the cupboards for the source of the noise. She hadn't expected to find her little sister trembling and hiding inside the last cupboard under the sinks. Brittany had never felt such relief in her life. She quickly went to her sister, and after Summer had registered that it was Brittany and she wasn't scary like their dad, she had grabbed on to her sister for dear life. The sudden ringing of a gunshot interrupted the sisters reunion. The shot seemed to have mobilized the bodies upstairs because Brittany heard the slightly dragging footsteps make their way down the hall towards the stairs. Wasting no time she had made a run for the front door closing it just as the glazed eyes and rotting body of her father turned towards her.

Coach Sylvester had yelled at her to hurry up. For an instant she had wondered why the sudden urgency until she had seen the rotting corpses of what she guessed used to be inhabitants of the neighborhood slowly making their way towards them. Holding back the scream in her throat so as not to frighten her little sister, whose head was buried in her neck , she ran the rest of the way to the bus. She had looked around at the others who had gotten back before her, and right away noticed the change. There was no more false hope. Mercedes was no longer praying. All the faces were solemn. Brittany realized that she and Sam were the only ones to come back with anything. In his case it was his little brother Stevie. She didn't have to guess what happened to everyone else. She had seen it in her parents. All they had from then on was each other.

Brittany recalled how coach Sylvester had driven straight through the hoard that was creeping up on them. How she had driven them to the little mall that was in the middle of Lima Ohio. And after shooting the few zombies that must have been turned inside the mall itself, had barricaded them in a little section, pulling down the metal gates at the entrances. No one thought to ask how the coach could be so calm in such a horrifying situation. No one seemed to be able to talk. Brittany had just cradled her sister and waited for further instructions from the only adult and leader they had left.

Pulled out of her musings by Puck once again grumbling about the lack of food, she turned to her little sister who was sleeping peacefully next to her. It had been six months since that night. Six of the most terrifying months she had ever experienced. Coach Sylvester had been "training" them like a commanding officer trained troops. She taught them how to shoot guns, how to ration food, how to make the most of the little they had. They had all been forced to kill zombies at one point, when they had to leave their sanctuary to get necessities like water from the reservoir at the back of the mall. The coach also had flair guns, and they had taken to sending out flairs twice a month. Not that it helped. Brittany highly doubted anyone was left "alive" in Lima. Mercedes had been skeptical about the flairs wondering if it wouldn't draw the zombies to them. But the coach had reassured her that in the second it took to let off a flair the Zombies wouldn't know what direction it was coming from. That didn't stop the worry though. It seemed that each trip they took outside they would encounter even more zombies, and the weapons and ammunition they had acquired from the hunting and gun stores in the mall were bound to run out sooner or later. Everyone knew it but no one said anything.

Looking at each of her friends Brittany remembered when they had finally told the story of what happened when they went to their homes. Mercedes had immediately called out for her mom and dad when she entered her house, too naïve or scared to ponder the wisdom of being loud. When she came upon her big brother tearing out the throat of her father in the living room she had let out a bloodcurdling scream that alerted the other inhabitants of the house. Her mother and sister had started to come down the stairs to see what was happening, or so she thought, but their footsteps weren't urgent. It was the slow ambling gait they would come to associate with the undead. Just before her brother could reach for her though, she heard the gunshot that sent her brother's brain splattering against the opposite wall. The coach had quickly grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the house before her mother and sister, or what was left of them, could reach the bottom of the steps.

Sam had a similar experience, except it was mother who was attacking his family. He had come across her eating what he could only describe as what was left of his little sister. He had found his little brother cowering in the bathtub and had grabbed him and hurried out the door before the sound of a gunshot seemed to have alerted the rest of the undead neighborhood. He had not seen his father's body and Brittany knew a part of him hoped that he had been working late or had gotten away before they had a chance to turn him.

Kurt had gone to his dad's garage to see if he could get to him. Blaine had gone with him because that hadn't been his neighborhood so his family wasn't close by. They had entered the front of the garage only to see what used to be Burt Hummel lunge towards them. Before Kurt could scream, Blaine had grabbed him and covered his mouth, pulling him away from the grasping hands of his father. Blaine had then proceeded to grab the nearest weapon he could find, which happened to be a tire iron, and swung it at Burt's head. That seemed to have incapacitated the zombie for a few seconds, long enough for the sound of a gunshot to summon what Blaine was pretty sure used to be Carole Hudson Hummel. He hadn't wanted to wait around to find out. So he had literally dragged a frozen Kurt from the garage, to the bus where he could only hope the others were ok.

Puck wasn't so lucky and had to be the one to take an axe to his mother's head. By the time he had entered his house and looked around, the body of his mother had appeared behind him. Luckily he had grabbed the axe before he started his search, so as much as it had pained him, he had to defend himself. He didn't have time to linger and look at what he had done. The sound of a gunshot had mobilized him into action. So grabbing a few of his kitchen knives he had run out of the house towards the bus that he hoped could take them to safety.

Tina's parents were doctors on the night shift so she hadn't left the bus because she knew no one would have been at home. She had faintly held out hope that her parents would be safe at the hospital but with each passing day that hope faded. It was hard to imagine anyone surviving the carnage that was happening on the outside.

Rachel had found no sign of either of her dads. She checked everywhere including the basement, which Brittany thought was silly and brave at the same time, but found neither. There was no sign of a struggle and their cars were in the garage so Rachel honestly had no idea what had happened to them.

Coach Sylvester didn't have to go home to check anything because she lived alone. Brittany briefly wondered what happened to Becky Jackson, but never had the courage to voice her thought. She was afraid that it would be the one thing to break the coach, and they needed her to be strong.

Artie wasn't able to check on his family because coach had said his wheelchair would be a hindrance if he had to make an escape. She had gone to check for him and when she came back looking grim, he had known. Whatever she saw when she went in there wasn't something he wanted to hear about. But he accepted that his parents were gone. They all had to accept this.

So this was their little group of survivors. Brittany, Summer, Sam, Stevie, Tina, Rachel, Mercedes, Puck, Kurt, Blaine, Artie and Sue. They were living in a little mall with dwindling food and weapon supplies, sending out flairs in hopes of being rescued by non zombified humans. Brittany didn't know if there were other survivors out there, but she hoped that somehow they could be saved.

**A/N: So I just got into The Walking Dead. So obsessed right now so I figured I would write a fic. But I wanted some romance as well and my favorite couple ever is Brittana. So what's better than Brittana with zombies? Let me know what you guys think. I will also be alternating between Brittany and Santana POV, so Santana coming up next. I will try to update as much as I can. Oh and it's not a walking dead cross over :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to those who are reading and reviewed, followed or favorited this story. To the anon who seemed a bit put out that Puck seemed to be the most pro active, well I politely disagree. Sue was actually the most pro active. She's Sue Sylvester. She'll always be the most pro active lol. But remember this is a new situation and they're just kids. But Brittany was head cheerleader and Sue's protégé. So don't worry she'll get her bearings in coming chapters. These were just introductions to the two separate groups and how they came together. Don't be annoyed anon. It's mainly Brittana, but there are other characters too. They can't all twiddle their thumbs while Brittany and Santana do all the work ;-)**

**Chapter 2**

Santana Lopez had seen a lot of shit. Living in Lima Heights she couldn't really help it. Ok so maybe the shit went down in adjacent, but she still liked to think she had lived close enough to be a part of the 'hood'. Her father was a cardiologist at Lima Memorial, and her mother was a Psychiatrist. They had both valued education above all else so she had grown up with them basically pointing her in the direction of every prestigious career she could consider as an option for the future. They wanted her to study a bit of everything so that when she made the choice she could be somewhat prepared. They gave her books on medicine, law, accounting and even architecture. What they didn't give her were books about dealing with Zombies. That would have really come in handy right about now.

Anyway, none of that mattered now. She had broken their hearts, or egos, when she tossed their private school education back in their faces and joined the army. Those were their words not hers. The army wouldn't make her rich or successful and therefore not an appropriate career choice for the prestigious Lopez family. She personally thought that serving and protecting the United States of America so that they could live relatively peacefully while making their money was a decent career choice, but it never really was about what she wanted. Now sitting on the roof of Brody's Dodge Ram Pick Up truck with a rifle for a companion, waiting patiently for her three friends to get back from gathering supplies from the abandoned gas station just outside of Lima Ohio, she briefly wondered if she would be able to find her parents.

When word had started spreading about the 'plague' infecting Illinois, Michigan and Indiana a few months ago, Santana thought it was the flu or something like it. When the first mention of the word zombie was thrown into the mix Santana had laughed until her stomach hurt. When the first pictures of the neighboring states were sent to the military bases, Santana didn't think it was funny anymore. Santana had tried calling her parents to see if they were ok but had gotten no answer, not from their cells, not the landline, not even the hospitals where they worked. That's when she knew she had to go back. Sure they weren't the warmest parents a girl could ask for, and they may not agree with her choice of career, but they did the best they could and made sure she didn't want for anything. The least she could do was to go back for them.

Something in the distance caught her eye. Looking through the scope of her rifle she saw that it was a zombie. Usually where there was one there were ten more nearby. They had learned that the hard way when, on one of their first stops on the outskirts of Ohio, they had encountered a lone Zombie mindlessly dragging itself along. Mike thought it would be good practice for when we entered into the real hell that was Ohio, but when he fired three bullets into the zombie, that turned out to be a beacon for its friends to come say hello as well. There had been about twelve of them coming from different directions, and both she and Quinn had to jump to the back of the truck to help Mike take care of them. Even Brody had to stop driving to deal with a few that were coming towards the front of the vehicle. That was the day they learned that only headshots killed those fuckers. They ended up wasting way too much ammo on what they would come to realize was just a small group.

She quickly jumped from the top of the truck and ran towards the station. She would rather they left now than engage the zombies that were sure to be lurking. They needed to save all the ammo they could. Her running seemed to have drawn Quinn's attention because the blonde was grabbing what she had managed to salvage and was beckoning to Mike and Brody that they had to go. She held the door open for them as they hauled about 4 bags of supplies between them. The gas station was abandoned but big enough that they had gotten a hell of a lot more than they were bargaining on. A quick glance inside showed that if they had more time they could have gotten a lot more. But there was no time to dwell on that. They tossed what they got into the back of the truck where she and Mike were posted for most of the trip, and Brody peeled out of the station. When Santana glanced back to where she had seen the zombie, she saw that the squealing tires had drawn its attention, and like she knew, it had been joined by three more of its companions ambling in the direction of the sound of the truck.

She heard Mike laugh next to her and couldn't help but smile. Mike always loved the thrill of fighting Zombies. She had tried on many occasions to get him to realize it wasn't a joke. But being naturally free spirited, not even a Zombie apocalypse could bring him down. She had met Mike in New York. He was in her regiment. When she told him she was going to Lima he tried to talk her out of it. He thought she didn't know what was going on in Ohio, but after assuring him she was well aware of what was going on and why she had to go he volunteered to go with her. Just like that. She had eventually come to realize that was the kind of guy Mike Chang was. He was unassuming and kindhearted. When he knew she was going back for her parents he didn't hesitate to offer his services. He had been an orphan growing up in foster care and group homes, and had joined the army the day he turned 18. He wanted to help people he had told her, he wanted the satisfaction of knowing that he had made a difference. So he had jumped into the back of the truck and hadn't looked back. She was grateful too. He had saved her life on more than one occasion.

Next she thought of Quinn. Quinn Fabray had been with her since the beginning of this ill advised journey. They had met at a training camp at Fort Drum in New York and had hit it off straight away. Santana thought Quinn had looked out of place, with her long blonde hair and big tired eyes, almost like she was running away from something. No one could accuse Santana Lopez of being soft. Just ask anyone who had gotten on the wrong side of her temper, including the zombies. But there was something drawing her to Quinn Fabray, nothing sexual, although anyone with two working eyes could see that the blonde was attractive. It was something else entirely, and after getting to know her, Santana would come to realize it was the protector in her, the sister. It came as a surprise when they both realized they were from the same place in Ohio. But where Quinn went to McKinley high, Santana had gone to a Private school. It was even more surprising to learn that Quinn had dropped out of Yale University. But she had explained that she felt her life was wasted there, studying literature with the expectation that she would go on to become a professor. It wasn't something she was passionate about. And after her high school sweetheart Finn Hudson died in a car crash she felt something break inside her. They weren't together when he died but she had still loved him. She felt like she owed it to him to live her life in a way that would make her happy. She didn't know how to start doing that so she decided to follow his footsteps. She joined the army like he had, hoping to find that spark she knew he found when he joined. When she heard what was happening in Lima and that Santana was going back she wasted no time joining her. Her mom was still there. They may not have had the best relationship but she was the only parent Quinn had. Besides she wasn't about to let Santana walk into zombieland on her own. Quinn and Santana had bonded on a level where they would walk through fire together or in this case a zombie apocalypse.

The truck made a sudden swerve and Santana heard Brody apologize from the front. She thought about the fourth member in their rag tag team. Brody Weston was an army brat. He grew up on Army bases where his mother was a general and his father was a Marine stationed all over the world, of whom he got see once or twice a year at most. She guessed Brody was destined for a life of military service so it was no surprise to anyone when he enlisted. It was also obvious that he fell in love with Quinn Fabray at first sight. Santana would hear the other recruits teasing him about it but he never denied it. She wasn't sure Quinn knew and if she did she's shown no indication of it. Santana could see how this might turn out to be a problem. A zombie wasteland was no place for romantic complications. But the minute Brody had gotten wind of their plan to leave, they weren't exactly discharged or given permission, he had volunteered to come along. It also helped that he had a huge Dodge Truck that could carry the weapons and supplies they had acquired on the way. Santana had volunteered to drive to Ohio since she was the one who had made the choice to go back, but after a few off road collisions, they had decided it would be best if Brody drove his truck. It also helped that she was the best shot in the group so having her on scouting duty worked better.

After a few hours of driving and being forced to kill some stray zombies in the towns leading to Lima, they had finally come upon the Welcome to Lima sign. Mike had found it strange that they hadn't encountered anymore zombies since passing through the last town an hour before, but Santana figured it was a blessing. They had gotten to rest a bit, even Brody when Quinn took over driving, and had saved on ammunition. Driving through the deserted streets of Lima was an eerie feeling. There was literally no movement. It was a ghost town. They didn't expect to see much people but there was no sign of even a zombie. She had heard they preferred the dark and it was only four in the afternoon but even the few towns they had passed through before had some strays aimlessly walking about. Santana leaned into the truck and asked Quinn whose house they should try first. It turns out Quinns was closer so that's where the group went.

When they pulled up to the entrance, Santana could already tell this was a dead end for lack of a better phrase. The door was wide open, and from her vantage point she could see the blood on the floor by the door. She wasn't sure if Quinn noticed, but they all exited the vehicle when she turned off the ignition anyway. They all walked cautiously to the front door, Mike bringing up the rear as he looked around for any signs of movement. Santana could see the moment Quinn realized that they wouldn't find anyone. But they kept going, because even though they had guessed, Quinn had to be sure. They didn't drive all this way for her not to be sure.

Side stepping the blood at the entrance, the four of them made their way into the house. Santana suggested she and Mike check downstairs, while Quinn and Brody checked the rooms upstairs. The quicker they cleared all the areas the better. Santana and Mike made their way into the living room, guns aimed and alert for any surprises. The picture frames she guessed used to be hung on the wall were broken and scattered on the floor. She was careful of the glass even though she had on combat boots and gloves. She picked up a photo of which she could only assume is or was of Judy Fabray. She looked like an older more uptight society version of Quinn. She wasn't even smiling in the picture. Santana found herself hoping for Quinn's sake that her mother fought her way out of the house and got somewhere safe.

Placing the picture gently on the side table, Santana continued her search. She vaguely heard Mike moving around in the kitchen as they looked for signs of human life. The sound of a glass breaking alerted Santana, and she quickly made her way to the kitchen, gun aimed and ready to dispatch any signs of the undead. What she got was Mike looking sheepishly at her, a broken glass at his feet. She breathed a sigh of relief but also annoyance. They couldn't afford to be careless right now. They also had to hurry because the sun would set soon. If they could get to her house before then, they could camp out in her father's wine cellar until morning. Santana was still hopeful but she was realistic. Seeing the town of Lima so desolate and barren, she was pretty sure her parents were either long gone or among the legions of zombies she's sure are lurking in the shadows.

Just then she heard Quinn scream from upstairs. She and Mike ran as fast as they could to see what had happened. They didn't have to go too far because there on the landing, in front of one of the bedrooms, was Quinn on the floor and what looked like a decaying Judy Fabray hovering over her, attempting to take a bite out of her youngest child. Mike raised his gun to dispatch the zombie but Santana stopped him before he could. She quickly pulled the trigger on her own gun, glad she had the foresight to put the silencer on before they left the truck. The last thing they needed was the sound of a gunshot bringing attention to them. The now completely dead Zombie fell forward, landing on top of the still shaking Quinn, a neat hole in the middle of its decaying head.

Quinn eased the Zombie off of her with what Santana could only describe as gentle regret. She knew Quinn and her mother weren't particularly close but this was the worst way for it all to end. A part of her felt guilty for pulling the trigger, but she knew Quinn couldn't and it wasn't practical for the others to do it if they didn't want to attract attention. She briefly wondered if she would be able to do it to her own parents if it came to it, but knew that any her three friends would have her back if it came to that. Catching Quinn's eyes she saw the gratitude in them, and with that the four of them left the house, not wanting to stick around in case there were more. Quinn had gotten her closure.

The drive to Lima Heights was a solemn one, the reality of what was happening finally hitting them. Even Mike was pensive, like he was finally realizing that this wasn't a field trip, that they were here to find and possibly kill people they knew and loved.

Brody followed Santana's directions and pulled up to the gates that would lead her to her childhood home. Mike jumped out to open the gates, allowing the truck to pass through. Looking up at the mansion Santana saw and felt the apprehension of the group. This wasn't like Quinn's house. There were eight bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen, a living room, a dining room, a laundry room, an attic, a basement, a wine cellar, a pool house and not to mention the acres of forests at the back of the house. And where there are forests there are trees. Trees that could be hiding anything. The search here could take a while.

They made their way to the front doors which Santana was thankful were locked. Using her key to open the door, the group quietly made their way through the foyer. Santana quickly laid out the plan. Quinn and Mike would check the areas down stairs while she and Brody would take the rooms upstairs. Then if they found nothing they would camp out in the cellar until morning.

The group quickly dispersed to make the rounds. Santana felt nostalgia overcome her. She had grown up in this house. Yeah, it was not always the best and her parents were at work more often than not, but it was still home. She went to her room first. It was just as she left it. Nothing out of place except the sheets that had been changed, her mother had always been rigid when it came to the cleaning schedule and the beddings had to be changed once a week. It was something that used to annoy Santana but at this moment, it was something she longed for. Glancing around the room, she saw her trophies from her swimming competitions and archery competitions. A Lopez had to be an over achiever, it was in their genes. Shaking herself out of her nostalgia she focused on the task at hand. After making sure her room was clear she moved on to the others. By the time her and Brody had checked all eight bedrooms and come up empty, they moved on to the bathrooms.

Before they could open the door to the master bath, Santana paused. Something didn't feel right. She didn't know what it was because she heard nothing and saw nothing. But her gut instinct was telling her to stop, and she always listened to her gut. Her grandmother once told her she had a psychic Mexican third eye and that she should always trust it. That third eye was predicting danger behind this door and Santana was inclined to believe it. She had to go in though. The whole point of this trip was to find her parents alive, dead, or undead. Signaling Brody to ready his weapon, she slowly turned the knob and eased open the door. Suppressing the initial reaction to scream, Santana gazed at what was once the maid. She was standing in front of the mirror, swaying back and forth, the once bronzed skin that pointed to her Puerto Rican heritage, now a sickly gray. It looked as if the left side of her face had been eaten away because Santana could see her rotting teeth through the hole in her cheek.

Brody aimed his gun, with the silencer on, towards her head. That was the moment she registered their presence. Just as she started to lunge for them he squeezed the trigger, splattering what was left of her brain against the pristine tiles of the white walls. They didn't have time to survey what they had done because in the next instant they heard a commotion. Running downstairs they were met with the sight of Mike and Quinn barring the door leading to the dining room. They didn't have time to ask questions before they were being urged out of the mansion. When they got back to the truck Santana demanded to know what happened. It seemed that when everything went down her parents were having a dinner party. Mike said there were at least forty zombies in the dining room. As Brody drove them back out through the gates, Santana looked back just in time to see that the Zombies had gotten through the door and were now heading in their direction. She couldn't be sure but she was almost certain she recognized the tall figure of her father among the masses.

It was getting dark by the time they made their way back to the highway. Santana knew there was no way they could get out of Lima before the zombies came out to play. She knew the others were worried too but tried not to show it. It wasn't long before they began passing some abandoned cars. Brody wanted to stop and siphon gas from the tanks but Santana scrapped the idea. She may be new to the whole zombie apocalypse thing, but she knew it was a bad idea to be out at night with those things crawling around. Quinn suggested the find a store or gas station to barricade them in until morning but Mike didn't want to stick around too close to zombie central and suggested they take turns driving to get out of there. Santana agreed with Mike but Brody, as whipped as he was, agreed with Quinn. Before they could try to break the deadlock Brody pointed out a flare in the sky. Since they were all pretty certain that zombies couldn't operate flares that could only mean one thing. Survivors. Weighing the rapid approach of complete darkness to the distance they saw the flare, the group decided they couldn't in good conscience leave Lima knowing there were survivors there who needed help. Brody turned the truck in the direction they saw the flare, everyone on alert for any possible surprises, wondering just who was fortunate enough to still be alive in this abandoned town. Santana figured they were about to find out.

**A/N: So here's the second chapter. Introductions are now officially over. Next chapter will be the start of dialogues. Who knows, maybe Brittana will meet. I wonder if they'll like each other…. **

**Please let me know what you guys think. Should I continue? :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. To the reviewer that was disappointed in the Quinntana friendship, I would apologize but I love Quinn. I always felt like if there's anyone who could really put Santana in her place when needed it would be her. Unholy Trinity and all that jazz. So if she wasn't Santana's bff she would be Brittany's. ;-D**

Chapter 3

Brittany watched with slightly disinterested eyes as Coach Sylvester quickly made her way back over to where she was waiting at the back mall entrance. That was the last flare in their arsenal sent up in desperate hope that someone would see it and rescue them. It was the same hope they had going on six months now and still no one came.

She knew if there was anyone out there they would be too busy saving their own asses to come looking for them. She was resigned to the knowledge that if they had any hope they would have to save themselves.

"I have a good feeling about that one Pierce. That's gonna be the flare that saves us." Said Sue approaching the blonde. Brittany lowered her handgun and helped her old coach pull down the metal door. They reinforced it by propping some furniture behind it. One could never be too cautious.

"I hope you're right coach. We're running out of supplies and I'm pretty sure I saw Puck try to take a bite out of Rachel earlier." The blonde responded.

"Food has been running low for a while. I'd considered trying to get to the bus again to look for a supermarket or something, but that hoard of zombies at the front had other ideas." She said looking more put out than worried.

Brittany remembered the first time the coach tried to go back to the bus they had all but abandoned. She and Tina had to run out behind Sue, shooting as many zombies as they could so that the coach could get back inside. They were almost overwhelmed, and even though they had gotten basic training, they were still far from proficient with their guns. Brittany was certain that they had only managed to kill two or three, but the spray of bullets were enough of a distraction to get the coach in.

"Don't you find it weird that they haven't really moved from the front of the mall? I mean we've been using this back entrance quite a bit but except for a couple, they haven't really come around here. It's almost like they know we need the bus to leave this town." Brittany mused.

"Zombies are brain dead wastes of space. They don't know anything. Kinda like Puckerman except he has a brain somewhere in that head of his. I just can't be sure if it's working or not. I'm not sure it's the same ones though. Maybe it's a zombie checkpoint" answered the coach.

The two made their way back to where the others were. Summer ran to her big sister, always relieved when she comes back from the outside. Brittany felt herself relax as she held her little sister. She had made a silent promise to herself, as well as her dead parents, that nothing would happen to the girl. It was hard having to explain to Summer why their dad had looked scary. Summer had been in the kitchen getting a drink of water when he had dragged himself into the house. She had stood frozen and watched him make his way bleeding to the top of the stairs. She hadn't known what to do so she hid in the cupboard like their mom always told them to do if an uninvited stranger ever came into the house. When Brittany had heard the tale her heart broke for her little sister, both in sadness and regret that she wasn't there to protect her. That's why she had to protect her now. She would die first before anything happened to Summer.

"Did you find anyone?" her little sister asked excitedly.

"Nope. But coach has a good feeling about the last flare, so hopefully someone will come get us soon sweetie" she answered as honestly as she could.

"I hope so. I don't like it here anymore." Summer said.

"Me neither." Replied Brittany, as she lead them over to the makeshift couch in the corner of their little "home".

She watched as Rachel braided Tina's hair and Mercedes read a magazine they had managed to find in one of the abandoned stores close by. The coach had advised staying in one end of the mall as much as possible. They weren't able to reinforce everywhere and if those zombies got even an inkling they were in there, then they would have no problems getting through one of the weaker doors on the west side of the mall.

Brittany felt eyes on her and glanced over to the "tech area" where the boys were trying to pick up signals from an old radio. Her eyes met Sam's green ones and she smiled a bit uneasily before turning away. They had dated for the first half of their senior year, but Brittany had made the decision to end it when he started treating her like a child. The easiness she had felt with him when they first started dating had quickly morphed into annoyance. He was always doing these weird impressions that were funny at first but then became grating. He always wanted to go up to her room to 'watch movies', which was code for trying to feel her up because according to him "I'm an eighteen year old guy and I have needs". She knew she had a bit of a reputation for being easy but that didn't make it true. Sure she had kissed a lot of guys and girls but that was only because she was dared to as a cheerio initiation in her freshman year. Kissing had somehow translated to having sex and those rumors spread like wildfire. She wasn't a virgin, but she wasn't a slut either. When she had told him exactly that, she could see his remorse. He tried to make up for it by singing cheesy love songs to her in glee club, so she stuck it out. But what really made her end it was when he laid cheerios cereal out on the floor and expected her to eat them. The floor where every dirty shoe at McKinley walked up and down on. On closer inspection she's sure she had seen a few crushed cheerios where someone had stepped on them. So she had followed the trail to find him in a classroom and promptly broke it off. He had been devastated, and had tried winning her back on several occasions but she just wasn't into him at all anymore, if she ever was.

Being stuck in a mall with horny teenage boys wasn't ideal. Especially since Mercedes had overheard them talking about being the only survivors and how they would have to repopulate the world. She told Brittany about Sam and Puck calling dibs on her and the thought grossed her out. She's pretty sure the human race would have to go extinct before she slept with any of the guys there, but those two especially. It also didn't help that the look in Mercedes eyes had been slightly accusing. It was no secret that she had a huge crush on Sam. Brittany encouraged her to go for it, but when she tried starting a conversation with him it was clear that he wasn't interested and was still hung up on his ex. Brittany just wanted to focus on getting out of Ohio and protecting her little sister. She was in no mood for romantic drama although she couldn't say the same for Rachel and Kurt who seemed to be enjoying the unexpected drama.

"Britt where's Stevie?" she heard Summer ask curiously. Looking around, she realized that she didn't see him in the corner playing with the legos the boys had looted from the toy store a few doors down.

"I'm not sure. He was there when we came in." she answered. By then they had gained the attention of the other occupants of the room. She saw Sam's face drain of color when he realized his brother was nowhere in sight.

They all got up and began looking for the little boy. Rachel ran to coach Sylvester's "office" to alert her of what was going on. They searched all the nearby stores but came up empty.

"Do you guys think he wandered to the west side?" Tina asked apprehensively.

"No way. He knows better. I told him to stay away from there!" Sam replied, slightly hysterical. Brittany felt bad for him. She knew that if it was Summer she would be inconsolable right now.

They continued looking until Mercedes saw the opened back door. They all looked at each other fearfully, then ran back to grab their weapons. Artie volunteered to stay with Summer while the others went to look for the little boy. By now it was completely dark out and peak zombie time. Sam was shaking next to her and Brittany saw Mercedes put an arm around him.

"We'll find him Sam. Don't worry." Mercedes whispered. No one wanted to be too loud. They knew the Zombies close by would easily be alerted to the slightest sound.

She felt Sam reach for her hand and couldn't bring herself to pull away. Stevie was the only family he had left and Brittany didn't want to think about what would happen if he lost him. They had all come to love him like a little brother. She gave his hand a little squeeze before she released it to ready her weapon. By now they were all outside.

"Ok Brittany, you, Tina, Puck and Rachel go left. Sam Mercedes, Blaine, Kurt and I will go right. We check back here in ten minutes if we haven't found him yet. Try not to run into any trouble." Sue finished, looking at Brittany like a mother would a child.

"You all be careful too." Brittany responded before she and her group headed off.

Brittany wasn't sure how they would do this. They couldn't call out too loudly for the little boy unless they wanted zombies to hear them. They also couldn't use flashlights because that would also draw attention. They only had the moon to guide them and she hoped that would be enough to find the boy.

"Why would he do this? We've told him and Summer over and over again not to play on the west side or go near any doors much less open them." Rachel said slightly panicked. Brittany didn't blame her. They were outside, at night, with zombies lurking god only knows where.

"Shh. Did you guys hear that?" Tina whispered, shaking slightly. They all paused in their quest, listening for what Tina heard.

After a few seconds they heard it again. Footsteps. They glanced at each other before raising and pointing their guns. These footsteps were too slow and heavy to be Stevie's. Brittany put her fingers to her lips in the universal signal to be quiet. No one moved as they listened to the zombie get closer. They were pressed to the side of the building in the shadows, so if they didn't move there was a chance that the zombie would by pass them. Just then they heard the high pitched screams of a child and they knew that it was Stevie. The footsteps stopped at the sound, probably trying to figure out where it came from, and then a few seconds later continued on. This time away from them. They knew that it was making its way to the sound of scream.

Brittany didn't stop to think. She took off in the direction of the zombie and rounded the corner to see it headed to where at least eight of its companions were gathered. On closer inspection, she saw the blonde child huddled in the corner by the garbage cans, shaking at the sight of what he knew as monsters coming toward him. Before she could talk herself out of it, she raised her gun and shot at the nearest zombie. It wasn't a headshot but it was enough to knock it to the floor. The sound of the shot echoed loudly in the silent night. Brittany turned towards the others and noticed they had stopped moving towards Stevie. They were now coming towards her. She held her ground and raised her gun again, ready to buy the little boy some time to run to Rachel who she could see beckoning him over from the corner of her eye.

Brittany shot at the zombies some more and was relieved when Puck and Tina joined her. The three friends stood their ground as Rachel approached a frozen Stevie from the side. Just then Sam rounded the corner, most likely lured by the sound of the gun shot, and saw his brother by the garbage bins. Brittany could see the moment Stevie recognized his big brother. It suddenly mobilized him from his stupor. Unfortunately it also drew the attention of a few of the Zombies. Brittany wasn't sure why Sam wasn't shooting, and turned to yell at him to help them when she saw a sight that made her blood run cold. From between the rows of abandoned cars in the parking lot, more and more zombies were emerging, no doubt alerted of their new prey by the sound of the gun shots. Coach Sylvester and the rest of her group finally caught up with them just in time to see them being caged in by more than twenty zombies.

"Oh my god" she heard Mercedes say before she started murmuring words Brittany recognized as the Our Father prayer. She was never a religious person but she did believe in that moment that if there was a higher power they would send help.

Brittany wasn't about to wait around to find out though. If she was going to die she would die fighting. She thought of her little sister and how she would no longer be there to protect her. Then she thought of Artie being the only one left to protect Summer and tears came to her eyes. She wasn't naive enough to think a boy in a wheelchair and a ten year old girl could protect themselves in an infested town. This was basically the end of the line for all of them. Her anger at that thought spurred her on in her wild abandon, hating these creatures that caused so much suffering. Just as one of the nearest zombies lunged for her throat, a force out of nowhere sent it careening backwards away from the blonde. Sparing a second to look over her shoulder she caught a glimpse of a black truck speeding its way towards them, two occupants in the back taking aim at the zombies. One with a rifle and the other with semi automatic handgun.

She didn't have time to dwell on this too long because the zombies were still closing in on them. Just then she heard a female voice tell them to stop shooting and run. For a moment she was angry. If they ran back to the building that would be inviting the zombies into their home. It was where her little sister was. There was no way Brittany would do that. But the others had no such qualms and stopped firing their weapons before turning and heading back towards the back entrance, Rachel now holding a shaking Stevie. The zombies tried to follow her friends but more gun fire from the truck commanded their attention. The coach, who had stayed behind with Brittany, must have caught on to what was happening because before Brittany could blink she was being hauled away to where the others were waiting for them.

They heard the truck rev it's engine a few times before turning away from them and heading towards the opposite side of the building. Brittany wasn't sure what was happening but she knew the zombies weren't following them anymore and were now zeroed in on the truck.

"Close the door!" she vaguely heard Puck demand but she wouldn't move. Whoever those people were, they had saved their lives. She wasn't going to lock them outside to deal with the zombies alone.

"Brittany! We have to close the door before more of them wake up! Come on!" Puck screamed, thinking she was just too shocked to move. But she wasn't. She glanced back at her friends and made up her mind. She stepped back outside before they could even blink, and pulled down the metal door.

Running to where she still heard the engine of the truck, she was just in time to see one of the passengers in the back, the woman with the rifle, jump out. Still aiming and shooting Brittany saw that, where they were amateurs, this woman was a pro with most of her shots hitting her targets in the head. The truck then took off leaving her to fend off the hordes by herself. Brittany didn't know why they would do that but she wasted no time in running towards the woman to help. She ignored the loud blaring of the horn of the truck and paid no heed to the woman frantically waving her away.

Going around the zombies she came to a halt next to the woman she could now see was of Hispanic decent. The woman who was now looking at her like she was doing something wrong. She turned to start shooting at the zombies but before she could, the woman grabbed her by the hand and urged her to run. It took a second for Brittany to see why. There, in her hand, was a grenade. Brittany watched as the woman hurriedly released the clip and tossed the shell at the hoard still meandering after them. There was just enough time for them to be hauled into the truck before the explosion of the grenade rocked the parking lot.

"Woo!" she heard the man at the back scream out. She glanced up to see an Asian man laughing at the showering of limbs over the area of the parking lot, the truck a safe distance from the site of the explosion.

"You alright miss?" the Asian man asked her after coming down from his high.

Glancing first to him, then to the Hispanic woman whose back was turned towards her, Brittany could only nod her head. What just happened was a bit surreal to her. Never in a million years did she think that there were other survivors. She hadn't let herself hope. But now looking at the two people next to her, and knowing that at least one other person was inside the truck, she felt the first fires of hope burn in her since what felt like forever. Before she could continue processing everything, the woman spoke.

"Is she alright? Physically yes but mentally? I have my doubts." she interrupted, finally turning to glare at the blonde.

"Excuse me?"Brittany asked, thrown by the hostility in the woman's tone.

"What part of run didn't you understand?" the woman continued.

"The part where you wanted us to abandon you to a group of zombies after you saved our lives maybe."She replied, her hostility now matching the woman's.

"Well given the skill level of you and your friends with those guns, I would have pretty much been better off on my own."

"Oh is that right?" Brittany asked, getting closer to the other woman. But before she could get a reply, the Asian man intervened.

"Um ladies, do you think you could continue this discussion inside? The grenade only slowed them down and what's left of them is coming our way" he said, pointing to the few zombie bodies that weren't decapitated enough to be immobilized.

The sight of several of them dragging the upper halves of their mangled bodies towards them caused both women to pause. Brittany found herself grossed out, yet morbidly fascinated by the sight. Watching them mindlessly crawl towards them despite the state they were in made her realize just how truly monstrous they were, their only thought being to search out prey.

"What's the matter? With that look on your face I'd think you haven't seen a zombie before." The woman tossed at her, seemingly ready to pick up where they left off.

"Santana give her a break. Let's just go to where her friends are and figure out what we're going to do. We can't stay out here much longer. No telling if there are more coming this way." The man said exasperatedly.

"Fine. Lead the way princess." Santana said, staring pointedly at Brittany. Realizing they hadn't seen where the others had run to Brittany turned to the Asian man and gave him directions. She watched as he passed it along to the driver before turning back to her.

"I'm Mike." He said, smiling gently at her.

Brittany relaxed a little. The man's smile reminded her of her father's. The genuine warmth in it made her feel a bit better.

"I'm Brittany. It's nice to meet you despite the circumstances or maybe especially considering the circumstances." she replied smiling back at him, reaching out to shake his hand.

"That snarky one next to us is Santana. Don't be too offended by her. It's just her way of showing how worried she was." he said, turning to grin at his friend.

"Shut up Mike."She grumbled, looking away from both of them as the truck pulled up a little away from the back entrance of the mall.

Brittany hopped quickly out of the back of the truck and ran to the door. She knocked gently on the metal, hoping someone was close enough to hear her. After a minute passed, she felt a presence behind her. Without looking she could already tell who it was.

"Well look at that. No answer. I guess even your friends expected you to be zombie bait by now." Santana said quietly behind her.

Ignoring her, Brittany knocked again, a little more firmly this time. That must have been what the person at the other side was waiting for, because just then door slid up and Brittany saw the relieved faces of her friends staring at her.

"Having a code to distinguish you from an enemy is a part of survival 101 isn't it? Thought you would know that." Brittany said smugly, looking at Santana. She felt a great deal of satisfaction as the woman just turned away to help her friends offload their truck.

"Oh Brittany, are you ok?" Tina asked, pulling her inside and into a hug.

"I'm fine Tina. These guys saved me." She answered, pointing to the four people standing behind her, waiting patiently to be invited inside. Before she could usher them in Puck stepped forward.

"Now wait just a minute, we don't know who these guys are. What if they attack us? We have Summer and Stevie and even Artie to think about." He said standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Really dude? We just saved you and your little friends from being the catch of the day and you don't think you can trust us?" The other man, probably the driver Brittany assumed, said to Puck.

"Yeah Puck. Move out of the way!"Mercedes said, pushing her way to where he was and pulling him aside. "Come on in you guys." She finished, smiling at them.

The four newcomers cautiously made their way passed the group, who for the most part were smiling in welcome. Puck glared at them in what Brittany guessed he thought was intimidating. Following behind them, she turned to lock and bar the door, but not before making sure the area was clear.

"Brittany!" she heard her sister squeal as she launched herself into her arms. She smiled and spun her around before putting her back down.

"Hey sweetie. Were you good for Artie?" she asked.

"Yeah I was but I was worried about you." She answered, pouting at her big sister.

"I'm ok honey, no need to worry anymore." she said, hugging the little girl once again.

"Who are those people?" Summer whispered, looking shyly over Brittany's shoulder to where the four 'guests' were standing.

Looking to where they were Brittany paused for a minute. Under the light of the mall Brittany could now see them clearly. The first thing she noticed was the fact that they were younger than she thought. They couldn't be much older than her and her friends. The next thing she noticed was how good looking they all were. Not that it was important, but it did throw her a bit.

Looking at them Brittany saw that there were two men and two women, dressed in what looked like military gear, black tank tops and green cargo pants.

The man who introduced himself as Mike was smiling at the group. In the light, she could see the kindness in his dark eyes and that there was nothing malicious about him. Once again she felt that earlier calm settle around her.

Next to him stood a blonde girl. She was very beautiful and Brittany noted, had the prettiest hazel eyes. She wasn't smiling and Brittany could practically see the wheels turning in her head. She was evaluating them. Brittany knew looking at her and her friends, the blonde girl would probably find them lacking, but she hoped she wouldn't hold it against them.

Her attention turned to the other man in the group. He reminded her of G.I. Joe with his buzz cut and rigid posture. Maybe the rigidity had to do with the staring contest he was currently having with Puck. Looking at her friend Brittany saw the open hostility and hoped that Puck wouldn't do anything stupid. The guy looked like he could do some serious damage and for all of Pucks bravado, she was sure he was no match for the other man.

Finally her attention fell to Santana. Brittany hated to admit it but the girl was stunning. Eyes almost as dark as Mike's stared at her, but where Mike's had a gentleness to them, hers was all fire and intensity. She was smaller than Brittany figured, but thought maybe it was the situation they had been facing that made her seem intimidating. She was slouched against one of the walls and unless you weren't paying attention you would think she was relaxed. But for some reason Brittany was paying attention and she could see the alertness in the girl. Santana raised a dark brow at Brittany, and it was only then she realized he had been staring. Blushing from embarrassment, Brittany looked away.

"I'm not sure yet honey, but they saved our lives. We'll find out soon though ok?" Brittany answered, looking back to her sister.

"Well if they saved you I like them." Her sister said, beaming at the four guests. She heard a chuckle from behind but didn't look back. She knew who it was but she was still too embarrassed about being caught staring.

Coach Sylvester entered the room just then. It's weird because Brittany didn't realize she wasn't there, and mentally scolded herself for not making sure everyone was accounted for. She watched as the coach scrutinized the newcomers before nodding her head. She probably didn't get further than their military gear to figure out she approved Brittany thought with some amusement.

She was surprised however to see Sue's eyes widen. Before Brittany could follow her line of vision she heard the blonde girl's exclamation of surprise.

"Coach Sylvester?!" She exclaimed. Brittany could see the beginnings of a smile curl the blonde's lips. Glancing over, she saw the coach break out into a full smile, something she hadn't seen in, well, ever.

"Quinn Fabray as I still live and breathe." Answered the coach going over to the girl whose name Brittany now knows is Quinn.

She watched as the two blondes embraced, and usually seeing coach Sylvester show any kind of emotion would cause Brittany to panic, but now she felt relieved. If coach Sylvester knew one of them then surely this was a good sign. Brittany was really beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, everything was starting to look up.

**A/N So now we're getting into the story. I'll try to update by Tuesday or Wednesday at least because it's gonna be a busy couple of days. Let me know what you guys think by leaving a review? But only if you feel like it. Thanks for reading though :D**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: **Sorry for the delay. Real world issues decided they needed attention and I didn't have time to focus on this. All mistakes are mine as I don't have a beta. Thank you to those showing an interest in this story. So let's dive in shall we?**

If you had told Santana they would find even five survivors she would have disagreed. It was a longshot that they were even going to find their parents when they set off on this mission. But here she is, counting at least ten of them. Most of them kids. The only adult she could see among them was that woman Quinn was currently in deep conversation with.

Another thing Santana noticed was the hopeful look a lot of them kept sending their way. Like they were some sort of messiah here to deliver them. She wasn't sure she liked the feeling it gave her. When they saw the flare she figured they would find one or two people that needed help and they would haul them into the back of the truck and taken them back to New York. She didn't expect an entire group. A part of her wished they had ignored the flare and got the hell out of Lima, but a bigger part was glad they came. She wasn't sure how they would do this, get all of these people out of here, but she's sure as hell gonna exhaust all her options.

Hearing a light giggle she turned to the source. Her eyes landed on the small blonde girl that was currently playing a game of hide and seek with Brittany. To see the child so happy and lighthearted made Santana melt just a little. In a place where there was nothing but devastation, to see a kid being a kid was a sight for sore eyes. Santana knew a lot of it had to do with Brittany. She had already guessed they were sisters by their interaction and their obvious resemblance. She felt a smile tug at her lips when the older blonde pretended to not notice the little girl hiding under a small table in the corner of the room. Santana had to admit they were adorable. And yes she meant they.

She subtly eyed Brittany. She knew she had come off as a huge bitch when they first met and a part of her felt guilty for it but she still felt justified in her reaction. The last thing Santana needed was innocent blood on her hands, and she knew herself, if anything had happened to the blonde when she came back under the misguided notion of helping Santana and got hurt, she would not have forgiven herself. Especially now that she knew that there was a little girl whose whole world, or what was left of it, revolved around her big sister.

"Hey. You're Santana right?" she looked over to the blonde big lipped boy that addressed her. In another life Santana would have taken sick amounts of pleasure in making sure he knew just what she thought of those ridiculous lips, but she decided for the sake of peace to keep those _very hilarious_ thoughts to herself.

"Yeah. Can I help you with something?" she asked, trying to seem interested. Other that his lips he was so boring to look at.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving us. Especially Brittany though. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to her." He said, smiling timidly at her.

"Oh. You're uh…welcome I guess. Why especially her though? Is she your girlfriend?" Santana immediately felt like an idiot after asking that. She didn't even know why she did. It's not like it was important information or anything.

"Oh. Um, we're on a bit of a break right now but she still means the world to me. We're actually on the verge of getting back together but we're uh, keeping it a secret." he answered, looking towards the blonde girl nervously.

Santana had always been a good judge of character. She liked to people watch on occasion and one thing she could do was spot a lie by reading someone's body language alone. This dude was lying.

"Oh really? That's nice for you. It must be some secret though cos I haven't seen her look at you even once in the couple of hours we've been here." Santana said, ignoring the way that admission made her seem like a bit of a stalker. It wasn't her fault the blonde was always in her line of sight and she was an observant person.

"Look I just wanted to come over and thank you for saving us ok? So yeah. Bye." He said as he walked away red faced and a bit angry. She didn't care though. The guy seemed like a bit of a tool. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

Glancing back, inevitably, to Brittany, brown eyes met blue. Santana was a bit startled but tried not to show it. She wondered if the blonde had heard any of the conversation she had with fish lips. She didn't have a chance to dwell on it too long because the blonde was suddenly making her way towards her. Santana felt the brief urge to flee but ignored it, rolling her eyes at herself. It was just a girl. A reckless, brave, beautiful girl.

"Hey." Brittany said finally reaching her, "mind if I sit with you?" she asked.

"If you want." The brunette answered, trying not to show her mild discomfort. She didn't want to think about why this girl made her uncomfortable. She didn't want to think about her heart rate that suddenly picked up. And she certainly didn't want to think about those blue eyes that seemed to look right into her soul.

"Thanks." The blonde smiled, taking a seat next to her. The two sat in awkward silence until Santana decided to break the deadlock.

"I met your boyfriend. He's a tool." Ok not the nicest thing she could think of saying but she felt a bit pressured. She was rewarded with a snort and a hint of a smile from the girl next to her.

"He's not my boyfriend." Brittany denied, looking a bit miffed.

"Does he know that? Because he seems to think you two are on the verge of rekindling your epic love." She smirked at the blonde.

"Yeah well that's not happening ever so he can forget it." She answered.

Santana raised an eyebrow at the girl's tone. This was obviously not a subject she wanted to discuss. Santana could take a hint and let it drop as the two once again descended into awkward silence.

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier." The blonde said, finally breaking the silence that had settled between the two.

"Why? Honestly I should be the one to apologize. I was a bit hard on you. What you did was really brave. Reckless. But brave." Santana interrupted, not wanting the girl to feel bad for trying to help.

"Yeah well, I've seen what those things are capable of. I feel obligated to help anyone at risk of getting infected." She replied.

Santana was surprised by this. She figured these people had been holed up in this mall from the onset of the infestation. They seemed inexperienced and naïve. But the way Brittany was talking, maybe they had been more exposed than she originally thought.

"What do you mean?" she asked the blonde. Curious as to what she had possibly went through.

Brittany looked over at her bit wary. She knew they had not had the best of starts and knew that the blonde was sizing her up, slightly suspicious of her sudden change of attitude. Santana didn't blame her, but she hoped the blonde could see the sincerity in her eyes. She must have seen something because she relaxed just a bit.

"When all this started we weren't in Lima. Our glee club was on the way back from sectionals a few states over when we realized something was off. The roads were practically abandoned and none of us could get our parents on the phone. When we got to the school there was still no sign of anyone. Coach Sylvester and Mr. Schue went to check out a noise they heard and, well, coach Sue came back and Mr. Schue didn't." Brittany said, a faraway look in her eyes as if she was reliving the moment.

"Wait, how long were you guys away from Lima?" Santana asked. She didn't know much about how this whole thing happened but the timing seemed a bit off.

"Just a few hours. We left in the morning and came back late in the afternoon." The other girl answered, turning a bit more to Santana.

"So it took a few hours for this thing to infect the town?" Santana asked rhetorically. She didn't like the sound of that. There was something off about this whole thing. Well, more than the obvious.

"Yeah I guess. When we left everything was normal. Our parents were ok." Brittany said sadly.

"What happened after your coach came back?" Santana asked softly, urging the blonde to continue.

"She told us she saw zombies. We laughed at her. We thought she was joking because come on, who believes in zombies right? But she wasn't. We all learned that the hard way when we went to our houses and found our families. Or what used to be our families. I only managed to save my little sister and Sam his little brother. Everyone else is gone." The blonde took a moment to collect herself. Santana knew this was hard for her. It couldn't have been easy literally walking into hell. Seeing the people you love turned into monsters.

"It's amazing that you got your sister out of there. She must be as tough as you if she managed to survive until you got to her." Santana said, trying to lift the girls' spirit a little. There was something wrong about seeing those eyes so sad even in this fucked up wasteland. She was rewarded with a genuine smile from the blonde.

"She is. She saw our dad after he was turned, but she still managed to remember the Pierce family survival guide. She hid in a cupboard until I could find her. And even now, with everything so confusing, she still manages to be a ball of sunshine most days." The girl said, fondly looking at her little sister sleeping in their corner.

"I'm glad you have her and your friends." Santana said. "How did you get here?" she continued, gesturing vaguely to the mall.

"The coach drove us here. After we managed to get back to the bus she drove us here and we locked ourselves in. We thought that maybe we could leave the morning after to find safety, possibly go back to where we had sectionals, but when we looked outside they were all over the parking lot. The bus was surrounded. We've been basically waiting them out ever since."

"So you guys don't go outside? How do you survive? Where do you get food? Water?" Santana asked.

"For some reason a lot of them don't really make it all the way around to the back, so we manage to sneak out once or twice a month to get water from the reservoir just out back. There was a small convenience section just a few doors over that had canned foods and crackers, stuff like that. So we made it work for us. Some days we would eat one meal. Other times some of us would go one or two days without eating at all. We just survived day by day, sending up flares and hoping to be rescued." Brittany answered.

"And the weapons? Where did you get those guns? Who taught you to shoot?" Santana continued her line of questioning.

"Coach Sylvester did. We got the guns from the mall guns and ammo store. There wasn't a wide variety but we did get a lot of ammo since we're the only ones here. The coach taught us as best she could. She taught us how to aim and how to work the gun but we didn't actually get to practice pulling the trigger because we were inside and we were afraid the sound would draw the zombies. So you can say we went through a trial by fire when we had to use our limited lessons in real life situations. But hey we're still alive so I figure we didn't do too badly." The blonde said, trying to insert a joke to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had settled around them.

Santana didn't laugh though. The more she heard the more she felt sick. These were untrained kids, trapped in a mall surrounded by the undead and running low on food. If she and her friends hadn't seen that flare, what would have happened to them? They had two small children and a handicapped boy with them. Their only means of escape was a bus being patrolled by those monsters. And at the rate Brittany said the infestation had spread she was willing to bet the town where they would have looked for refuge was in the same state as Lima. Desolate. With new resolve Santana turned to the blonde.

"I'm going to get you out of here. All of you. We'll take you with us back to New York." She assured the girl next to her. For a brief moment she felt a pang of uneasiness. She didn't know if it was the weight of the promise or the situation in general, but something was off.

She glanced at Brittany and saw the gratitude in her eyes. She knew the road ahead would be difficult, but she would do her best to keep her promise. These kids had been through too much.

"Hey Santana, can we talk to you for a minute?" Brody asked, approaching the pair.

"Sure. Excuse me a minute Brittany." Santana said getting up.

"Yeah of course. I'll just go check on Summer." Brittany replied, watching as the friends walked off to the side.

"Santana we have to decide what we're going to do. There's a lot of them here and the supplies are limited. I'd say, from what coach Sylvester told me, they have maybe a week's worth of supplies left." Quinn disclosed, getting straight to the point as Santana and Brody joined her and Mike.

"Yeah. Brittany was just explaining their situation to me. What do you guys think? I mean obviously they can't all fit into the truck," Santana said subtly glancing around, "they have a bus but that's parked at the front and it's surrounded by zombies." She finished.

"Our supplies were barely enough for us. We certainly can't stretch it any further." Brody added, looking tense.

"Well we can't not help them. There has to be a way." Mike said, glaring at Brody's implication.

"We're going to help them," Santana intervened as the three turned to her, "We just have to come up with a plan. I was thinking we could try luring the zombies at the front of the mall to the back away from the bus so they could make a run for it." She continued, waiting for her friends reactions.

"Do we even know how many are in front? It could be dozens, maybe hundreds, can we risk that?" Quinn asked, looking slightly worried.

"What other choice do we have? That bus is the only thing that can carry all of them." Santana replied.

"Well it sounds dangerous. We should scout the place. See if we can come up with a plan where we aren't blindsided, and possibly get killed for people we don't even know." Brody said, looking more at Santana than the other two.

Santana considered this. She knew he was right. When they drove into the parking lot they went straight into action, not really having enough time to scout the area to see possible escape routes. From what Brittany had told her there were a lot of zombies at the front. Enough to keep all of them there for six months. Those kids may not be the best with weapons but she figured if it was just ten or even twenty zombies, they would have been out of Lima already.

"You're right. But we have to do it now. They come out more at night, so if we can find a way to see out front tonight and count how many there are, we can come up with a plan and execute it tomorrow morning. The sooner we're out of here the better." She said, glancing at her three friends for their reaction to her suggestion.

"Ok so how about we split in twos and have a look around this place. Find a different exit or even better access to the roof. Height is definitely an advantage in this situation. I have yet to see one of those fuckers climbing anything." Santana suggested after the three nodded their agreement.

The four companions grabbed their weapons and prepared to head out. Quinn went to inform her old coach of her groups plan so they didn't get worried. Santana and Mike were already at the front, guns in hand discussing what direction either group would take when Brittany approached.

"Hey. Are you leaving?" she asked Santana, looking a bit upset.

"Not exactly. We're going scouting. We're looking for roof access in particular." Santana answered, slightly flustered at the blondes sudden appearance.

"Oh. Isn't it a bit late? Wouldn't it be safer if you went when there was more light?" Brittany asked.

Santana debated with herself whether to tell Brittany why they were going now. She didn't want to get the girls' hopes up just in case the plan failed. But she could see the blonde wouldn't be satisfied until she got a plausible answer. Santana settled for half the truth.

"Zombies seem to be more nocturnal, so if we can scout them out at night to see their numbers we can know what we're dealing with when the time comes for us to leave." Santana answered, leaving out the part where they would try to leave tomorrow if they were successful.

"Ok. Well I'm going with you." Brittany replied.

"What? Oh no you're not! It's too dangerous for you." Santana snapped, balking at the thought of Brittany in more danger tonight.

"Everything is too dangerous right now. I'm not gonna sit and twiddle my thumbs while other people run off to protect me. I'm not helpless." Brittany protested.

"I never said you were helpless. You proved the opposite tonight in fact. But we don't know what we're gonna find around this mall. You guys have been in this one area since the beginning. Who knows what else is in here." Santana refuted, pleading with the blonde to see her point.

"Was that supposed to deter me? Because if anything that just means you need me to watch your back. Like you said who knows what you'll find out there." Brittany said, looking pointedly at the brunette.

"I have Mike to watch my back. We're trained soldiers and we've been watching each other's backs for a long time." Santana said, still adamant that the blonde not join them.

"Well I'll watch your front." Brittany said undeterred.

Santana heard Mike snort next to her. She stared at the blonde with a raised brow and noticed the slight flush to her face when it finally clicked how what she said sounded.

"You know what I mean." She said, still red faced.

"Brittany, I will feel better knowing you're here with your friends. If anything happens they'll need you to look out for them. I feel somewhat responsible for you guys now and you're the only one I trust with this." Santana said outright pleading with the other girl. She wasn't lying. From what she saw, Brittany was the only one capable enough with a gun but that wasn't saying much. If anything happened, besides their coach, she was their best bet for survival.

"Fine. But be careful." The blonde said staring at Santana, finally relenting. "All of you." She finished looking over to Mike, Brody and Quinn who had finally rejoined them.

"Don't worry Brit. We'll be fine. Just watch, we'll be back in no time." Mike said, smiling at the girl.

"Come on guys let's go. The quicker the better." Santana said, turning away from the blonde. Something didn't feel right, walking away from Brittany. But Santana refused to consider why that was. As she and her friends walked further away from the others, Santana glanced back. Brittany was still where they had left her, watching them walk away. Their eyes met briefly and Brittany gave Santana a half smile before turning and going back inside.

"Well that wasn't intense or anything." Mike teased her with a little nudge to the arm.

"What are you talking about Chang?" Santana asked, pushing him away.

"He's talking about the complete one eighty between you Brittany. One minute you guys are at each other's throats and the next she wants to ride off into danger with you." Quinn teased.

"We came to an understanding that I may have over reacted just a bit earlier. She's pretty cool." Santana said, hoping her friends couldn't see her blush.

"Just pretty cool? Is that why you two sounded like some bad apocalyptic couple about to be separated?" Mike continued to tease her.

"Shut it Chang. The girl just has this need to protect everything and everyone around her. I don't know her that well but that part is pretty obvious. She was worried about you three as well." Santana defended.

"Is that why she completely ignored that we were standing right next to you until the very end?" Brody joined in. Santana glared at him. If there was anyone she should have been able to depend on to keep the others in check it was him. He wasn't supposed to join the teasing.

"Just focus on the task at hand. Look for hidden doors or anything that looks like it would lead outside. Stay close to each other and be on alert. I wasn't kidding when I said these things could even be inside. Be on guard especially when opening doors." She said pointedly to Quinn and Brody as they got ready to separate. She and Mike went right as the other two went left.

"Hey Santana" Mike said as they were shining their lights into some of the abandoned stores. "Do you think it's a bit strange that after all this time only these few States have been affected?" he continued.

"I was actually thinking about that. It doesn't make much sense. New York isn't that far from here. These things just walk. It's all they do. Walk and Kill. They should have invaded other states by now." She answered, glad someone else had pointed out one of the things nagging at the back of her mind.

"Do you think something is keeping them confined to this area?" he asked, look slightly worried.

"I honestly don't know. It could be. Or someone isn't telling us something." She replied.

"You mean you think this is some sort of conspiracy?" Mike asked, stopping to face Santana directly.

"I'm saying something isn't right about all this. Brittany mentioned the morning they left that everything was normal, but by the afternoon it had all gone to hell. Think back to when we first heard the news. It was a month or so after it started. They had to have known what was happening here when it began. Yet they waited that long to tell us." Santana said, looking intently at Mike, hoping he understood what she was hinting at.

"Are you saying they kept it a secret on purpose?" Mike asked looking appalled.

"I'm saying they know what's happening and they tried to either fix it or cover it up. When it obviously got out of hand they knew it would get out so they were obligated to tell us." Santana confessed.

"You can't be serious." Mike said looking at her like she was crazy.

"I am. It's been bugging me since we got here. Lima isn't that big. At the rate it spread when it began it should have invaded most if not all of the eastern states by now. But it's been confined to just the three we were told about. Someone is controlling this, or trying to." Santana said. When Mike continued to stare at her she turned and started walking again.

"I'm not completely sure though. It's just a theory. When we get back to New York I'm going to try to find some answers. My parents were victims of whatever this is. I owe it to them to at least try to find out what happened." Santana continued as Mike caught up to her.

"Santana. What happens if you're right? What happens if you find out that the government or someone else is behind this? What will we do?" Mike asked uncertain.

Santana smiled at his use of "we". She was grateful to know that if this got further, then he'd still have her back. She knew that she could also say the same for Quinn and Brody.

"I don't know. Let's just focus on finding a way to get those kids out of here. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She answered, trying to appease the worry she knows she's caused.

"Ok." He tried smiling at her. "Hey look." He continued, shining his light towards a set of stairs towards the back of an area they were approaching. Pointing the light further up they saw it led to a door. They smiled at each other because they knew what it was. It was almost too easy.

After climbing the two flights of stairs, they reached the door. It was chained and locked. Mike breathed out a frustrated sigh. Santana knew it was more for the ammo he was about to waste than for the task itself. She backed away as he raised and pointed his gun at the lock. After shooting it off, he released the chain and the two exited through the door and unto the roof. Making sure the immediate area was clear; the two proceeded to look out towards the parking lot.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Santana swore as she looked to the ground. Below them were about an estimated seventy to eighty zombies idly walking back and forth at the front of the mall. Santana made out the yellow and black bus among the sea of the undead, but she now understood why those kids were stuck here. There was no way they could get through that hoard without casualties. Not with their lack of skill and certainly not with two children and a boy confined to a wheelchair.

"How many grenades do we have left?" Mike asked, already looking at possible escape routes.

"Three. But we can't use them near the bus. That would defeat the purpose." Santana answered, also turning scenarios in her mind.

"There should be less in the morning right? So maybe if we could distract the ones near enough to draw them to us while someone gets the bus to the back, that should work right?" Mike continued throwing out ideas.

"Yeah that's not a bad idea. But we'll have to come back to check tomorrow morning. I don't want us to leave any stone unturned. We can't risk anything going wrong. If there are this many at night, where the hell does the majority go during the day and why do they come back?" Santana wondered mainly to herself.

"We can worry about that tomorrow. For now this is good enough. We're making progress. Let's go find the others." Mike said, leading her back to the door.

When they got back to the point where they separated from Quinn and Brody, the other two were already there waiting. They discussed their findings and it turns out there was another weapons store called "Guns N Ammo", how original, that hadn't been touched. It was on the western end where Quinn had mentioned the coach saying they didn't venture into. When Quinn explained there was a lot more glass and the doors weren't that secure and it was closer to the entrance, Santana understood why they didn't risk it. But she made a mental note to go there and gather as much weapons as she could for the trip out of Lima.

When they got back to where the others were, the majority of the kids were asleep. The only ones who were still awake were Sue, Brittany and Puck. Santana thought she heard Brittany mumbled "told you so" to Puck but she couldn't be sure. The young man simply glared at them and stalked off to his sleeping section. Santana didn't dwell on him. He obviously had a stick up his ass and she didn't care enough to want to know why. She also tried not to care about the way Brittany was smiling at her. This was not the time or the place for the thoughts trying to surface in her head. The girl was becoming a distraction.

Santana watched as Quinn relayed the results of their scouting to her old coach. She had to admit the woman was a bit intimidating, and it wasn't hard to see how they had all survived to this point with someone like her leading them. She did the best she could, taught them, cared for them, protected them, and Santana could see the respect they had for her. Even Quinn who wasn't here with them when it all happened, deferred to the woman as a leader.

"Hey." She turned slightly to Brittany whom she hadn't heard approach her. "I heard your mission was a success." She finished, smiling at the brunette.

"Yeah. We found the door to the roof and more ammo. It will be easier to take action now that we have a place to scout them from." Santana answered, turning fully to face the girl. Even as tired as Santana knew she was, those blue eyes still sparkled brighter than any star she had seen while on the roof. Cursing herself silently for that unnecessarily sappy thought she turned her attention back to the conversation.

"Do you think we'll be able to come up with a plan soon? I don't mean to be pushy it's just that I feel the longer we wait, the more I'll begin to think this is a dream. We've all waited so long for this. For someone to come rescue us from this place and take us somewhere where we're not afraid to even look outside. There hasn't been a day that's passed that we haven't all been so afraid." The blonde said.

Santana could hear the tears in her voice and see the sadness in her eyes. It broke her heart. It made her angry to think that they had been abandoned here to die. Because the more she thought about her conversation with Mike the more she was convinced that there was some human element at play. It also made her more determined to find out what the hell happened, not just for her parents but for these people that had to suffer, for Brittany.

"Yeah. We'll all figure something out in the morning. We'll discuss as a group our next course of action. Don't worry Brittany, it'll be over soon. We'll get out of here." Santana reassured the girl, smiling softly at her. She was taken aback when the blonde wrapped her arms around her. She closed her eyes and willed her heart to calm down. She slowly brought her arms up and around the taller girl, returning the hug. If she didn't get herself under control soon she knew she would be in trouble. If she's honest, she's already in trouble.

**A/N: So that was it. I should get the next chapter out in a few days. If I zone out, maybe even tomorrow. We'll see. I need to get these people on the road. A few things have to happen first though. I wonder if they'll all make it to the bus…**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for all the reviews and follows. I'm really enjoying writing these guys. I hope you'll stay with me on their journey. **

Chapter 5

Brittany stirred in the quiet hours of the morning. It was at times like this where she really missed hearing birds chirping or simply just watching a sunrise. She shakes it away before it could take root. This was no place for fanciful thoughts. They needed to focus on the task at hand which was to get out of the mall and out of Lima.

Her mind drifted to the newcomers from the previous night, more specifically to Santana. The girl was an enigma to her. One minute she's raging at Brittany for her stupidity and the next she's calling her brave. She also thought about how easy it was to sit and talk to the brunette. Initially she had only meant to apologize for almost ruining their plan when they came to rescue her and her friends, but when Santana extended the proverbial olive branch she couldn't turn it down. The more they spoke last night, the more at ease Brittany became. When she saw the determination in Santana's eyes to help her and her friends, something stirred inside her.

She's never made a secret of her attraction to both genders, and she was pretty sure attraction was what she felt for Santana in the few hours of knowing her. She knew the other girl was brave, the fact that she was a soldier was proof enough of that. She also had a wicked accurate shot from what Brittany had seen since none of her bullets missed the target. It was also obvious to anyone with eyes how beautiful she was. Brittany had wanted to hold on to her anger after what occurred between them initially, but she couldn't ignore the force that was drawing her to the brunette. The same force that made the green eyed monster inside her rear its head when she saw Sam approach the other girl. At first she thought it had more to do with Sam than Santana, but when the boy had stalked angrily away from the brunette, Brittany found her eyes glued to her. That's when she realized what, or rather who it was that had her attention.

She couldn't deny the worry that settled in her gut when Santana and her friends went scouting. She knew Santana was right and there was no way of knowing what was inside the mall with them, but the thought of the other girl in more danger didn't sit well with Brittany. But she also understood what Santana meant when she thought it best for Brittany to stay. She had to look after the others, especially Summer. It didn't stop her from pacing a hole into the floor until they got back. She had almost started an argument with Puck for believing Santana and her friends weren't coming back. She didn't understand why the boy was so angry and opposed to their rescuers and honestly it worried her a bit. In any other situation she would think he didn't want them to be rescued.

Feeling her little sister move slightly, Brittany held her closer. She wanted the little girl to get as much rest as possible, because even though Santana didn't outright say it, she felt like they were going to try to get moving very soon. If not today then the next day at least. She wanted her sister to get her last comfortable rest because who knows when they'll have this chance again.

"I can hear your thoughts from all the way over here." she heard a voice whisper. Glancing up she met Tina's eyes across from her.

"I can't help but have a really good feeling about today." she smiled at her friend. "Santana's gonna get us out of here I just know it."

"Santana huh?" her friend teased. Brittany felt the blush she knew was rising on her cheeks.

"Yeah. She and her friends found the door to the roof last night, so they think they can come up with a way to get us out of here." she subtly corrected, hoping her friend didn't notice her sneaky inclusion of the others.

"That would be amazing." Tina replied. "You two sure seemed cozy last night." she finished, smirking undeterred at the blonde.

"We didn't even talk that long. I was only telling her what happened to us." The blonde replied getting even more flustered.

"I'm just telling you how it looked. Be careful, I don't think Sam liked it too much."Tina teased.

"I don't care what Sam likes, it's none of his business." Brittana replied.

"Oh, so there is something there." Tina said triumphantly.

"That's not what I meant. Just forget it." the blonde groaned, ignoring her friend's quiet laughter.

A few minutes later she saw the others start to awaken. Glancing over at the four newcomers, she saw only Mike was awake. He was currently tugging on his boots and Brittany watched curiously as he holstered his gun and headed outside. Easing away from her still sleeping sister Brittany followed after him.

"Mike, where are you going?"She enquired, catching up to the Asian man.

"I was just going for a walk, to stretch my muscles a bit."He answered, stopping and turning to the girl.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked eagerly. Truthfully she couldn't tell when the last time she went walking for leisure was. As a dancer her body longed for the vigorous exercise she used to do.

"Sure, I'm always up for company." he answered smiling.

The two made their way towards the end of the safer part of the mall in comfortable silence. Brittany couldn't stop her mind or her mouth from running in a particular direction though, much to her mild annoyance.

"So have you and Santana known each other long?"She asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Four years." he answered, smiling fondly. "We enlisted around the same time, and we were basically thrown together from the beginning." He continued.

"That must be nice. You all seem pretty close." She continued the conversation.

"We are. The four of us have our own personal reasons for enlisting, and I guess we kind of bonded over that." he said, stopping suddenly. "Hey if you're worried about what's going to happen, don't be. We're going to help you guys. Besides, Santana has made it her personal mission to get you guys out of here and that alone means you're halfway gone already." He finished grinning.

"Really?" she smiled at hearing this, "For someone so tiny she sure is intimidating." the blonde said.

Mike's sudden bark of laughter was startling in the eerie silence of the mall. "Don't let her hear you say she's tiny. She'll take it as a challenge." he said, still laughing.

"But she is though. If I hadn't seen her in action for myself I would never take her seriously." She replied.

"You're not the first to think that. Santana had to put a lot of people in their place when she enlisted. They thought not only was she a girl, but she was small in stature with a privileged background and no military experience. They even made bets on how long she would last." He said, turning to head back the way they came. "The same thing happened with Quinn when she joined a few weeks later. So they kind of teamed up to prove everyone wrong. And they did." he finished, looking proud of his friends.

"I can actually imagine that. Don't tell her I said this but she was a total badass last night."Brittany said quietly, looking around as if said brunette would pop out at them any second.

"Your secret's safe with me Brittany." He said, also lowering his voice.

The two shared a laugh as they continued walking. Eventually they made it back to where the others were already up and waiting. Brittany missed the glower Sam sent hers and Mike's way, instead focusing on the brunette who was off in one of the corners playing a hand game with Summer. She's seen others play with Summer before, in fact she'd been adopted as everyone's little sister for the past few months. But seeing her interacting with Santana was different. She didn't know how, but she felt the difference in the way her heart melted at the sight.

"Hey guys." she said making her way over to them. Summer stopped the game abruptly to run to her. Brittany looked over to apologize to Santana, but the words got caught in her throat. She'd seen the other girl smile before. Last night they were getting along pretty well and shared a few. But this smile was different, softer. The Brunette made her way over to the sisters and placed a gentle hand on Summer's head.

"Hey. I hope Mike didn't bore you too much. He likes to drag people out on his nature walks. Well in this case his mall walk." the brunette said, still smiling that smile.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I mean no. No he didn't bore me and I volunteered to go." The blonde replied, trying to calm the butterflies suddenly taking flight in her stomach.

"Maybe I was right to question your mental health if you actually went with him on purpose." The other girl teased, tugging on a stray lock of the blonde's hair.

Inhaling suddenly at the brunette's familiarity, she once again felt the blush crawling up her face; she almost missed the tugging on her shirt. Looking down at her sister, she saw the girl looking shyly up at Santana before turning back to her.

"Are you ok Brit? You look a bit weird." Her sister asked innocently.

Brittany was sure her face got even redder if it was possible. She glanced quickly over to Santana before answering, "I'm fine. Just a bit flushed from taking a morning walk is all."

"Oh, ok. Want to see the new game Santana taught me? It's really fun." she said excitedly.

"Sure sweetie. But why don't we get something to eat first?" she asked the little girl.

"Is it another protein bar? Because I don't really like those."Summer said pouting.

"I know you don't but that's all we have for now." Brittany said softly, knowing her sister would understand.

"You guys can have some of ours." She heard Santana intervene before Summer could answer.

"What do you have?" Brittany asked, honestly sick of eating protein bars as much as her sister.

Santana leaned closer to the two as if sharing a secret. "We grabbed a few muffins and candy bars before leaving New York. They're not expired or anything." she answered, glancing around as though not wanting anyone else to hear.

Brittany saw the excitement in Summer's eyes and had to cover the girl's mouth before she could let everyone else in on Santana's offer. Glancing up at the brunette, Brittany could read the slight guilt and gratitude in her eyes. It wasn't hard to guess that there wasn't enough for everyone and that's why Santana was being cautious that she wasn't overheard. Brittany felt guilty and excited all at once. Guilty because she felt in a sense she would be betraying her friends if she accepted Santana's offer but excited that not only was the girl willing to share with her and her little sister at all, but she hadn't had a muffin in so long her mouth was practically watering. Nodding subtly at the brunette in acceptance, she watched as the girl made her way over to the packs she and her friends brought and picked up a small duffle.

"Hey guys, we're gonna show Santana where the bathroom is ok? We'll be back soon." Brittany addressed everyone else in the room. Looking back towards Santana she didn't miss the silent debate that seemed to be waging between her and Quinn. Eventually the blonde deflated a bit and gave Santana a knowing smirk. Not knowing what that was about she and Summer waited anxiously for Santana to join them.

When the brunette joined them, the three made their way in the direction of the bathrooms, just in case anyone was watching. When they were far enough away so they wouldn't be seen, Santana set the bag on the floor and pulled out the goodies. Brittany could see Summer bouncing in the spot where she stood, and felt the urge to join in. She didn't want to come off childish to Santana though so she held back.

"What do you want kiddo, blueberry or chocolate?" Santana asked Summer. Brittany selfishly prayed her sister chose the chocolate because blueberry was her favorite. She breathed a sigh of relief when the smaller blonde did indeed choose the chocolate, much to Santana's amusement if the grin and knowing look she sent her was any indication.

She mumbled a quick "thank you" when the brunette handed her the blueberry and proceeded to open it and take a healthy bite. She didn't care how she looked now. She was in heaven and was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Looking over at Santana, she raised an inquisitive brow at the candy bar the other girl was eating. Santana gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged. "It's for energy." She mumbled.

Brittany was still skeptical. She hoped Santana didn't give her the last of her muffins. Ignoring the dirty direction her thoughts had suddenly taken, she silently offered some of the blueberry muffin to the brunette.

"Brittany I'm fine. Eat." the other girl urged. Shrugging, the blonde did as she was told.

"So what's the plan for today?" She asked after she was done eating.

Sending a quick look in Summer's direction, and satisfied that the girl was still distracted with her muffin, Santana answered. "We're going back to the roof. We figured from there we'll be able to see how many there are and what the best possible route to the bus is."

Brittany perked up at this. She knew Santana and her friends were going to try to rescue them soon, but she honestly didn't think they would try today. Santana must have seen the change because she hurried to caution the blonde.

"I'm not saying it's definitely happening today. It depends on what we find when we get up there, but if we can we will. No use delaying right?" she said, smiling at her.

"Yeah definitely no use delaying. None at all." Now Brittany really couldn't help but bounce. Santana simply laughed and shook her head. Brittany thought she heard a murmured "cute" from the brunette but couldn't be sure so she didn't comment.

"I'm done!" Summer chirped between them. Santana took both wrappers and put them in her bag. When the little girl stood up, she wrapped her arms around Santana's waist, looking up at her like she was the greatest thing ever. Brittany couldn't blame her. She was beginning to share the same sentiments. Santana ruffled the little girl's hair, and after making sure there were no crumbs as evidence of their little deception, the three made their way back to the group.

"Finally. We were wondering if you girls got lost." Mercedes said when they entered.

"Sorry that was my fault. I was surprised by the set up you guys had going there and was bugging Brittany about it." Santana responded.

"You like that? It was actually an idea of mine to use the water we got from the reservoir and pour it into the buckets we had fashioned into a makeshift shower. So whenever we were ready, we simply had to pull on the rope and voila! A shower."Artie intervened, loving the opportunity to talk about "his invention".

"Uh yeah, it was really cool." Santana replied. Brittany stifled a laugh at the other girl's expression after Artie's excited nerd rant. She looked so dumbstruck it was kind of cute.

Just then Brody motioned Santana over to him and the rest of her group. Brittany guessed it was to talk about whatever plan they were trying to come up with to help them get out of there. Now that her earlier excitement had abated, she felt the anxiety creep in. There were so many things that could go wrong. She knew they were going to have to fight their way out. She just hoped they were strong enough.

The group finished whatever discussion they were having and the blonde watched as Santana made her way over to her.

"Hey. Do you want to go on a field trip?"The brunette smirked at her.

"What kind of field trip?"She asked, confusion written on her face.

"To the roof. Bring your gun, I want to teach you something." Santana answered.

Brittany felt excitement and apprehension war inside her. Was Santana going to teach her how to shoot better, or was the gun just for precaution and she was teaching her something else? Either way, she was starting to find it very hard to say no to anything Santana asked of her.

Grabbing her pistol, she made sure Summer was safe with Rachel before following the four friends outside. They didn't get very far before they were stopped by an angry voice.

"Brittany where are you going alone with them?" she heard Puck ask as he and Sam caught up to the group.

Brittany was taken aback by his aggressive tone. Sure they were friends, in fact after all they've been through together she considers them her family, but Puck was acting a little too entitled for her taste at the moment.

"I'm going up to the roof with them. Did I forget to ask for your permission?" she asked the mohawked boy.

"Are you kidding? We just met them yesterday and you're going off alone with them? We don't even know if we can trust them!" he fired back, raising his voice slightly.

"Dude what is your problem?" she heard Brody intervene behind her. She knew these two were in a silent battle of wills since last night, and she needed to stop this before tensions could rise further.

"Look Puck, I trust them. It's ok if you don't but they saved us out there in case you forgot. If it weren't for them we would all be dead," she glared at the boy. "And I expected you of all persons to realize that." she added, turning to Sam who had the decency to look sheepish.

"Well if you're going, we're coming too." Puck insisted, not backing down. Before Brittany could answer she saw Santana step up next to her.

"Out of the question. The same way you don't trust us is the same way we don't trust you. You're a hot head, and I'm not sure if it's from being cooped up here too long or that's the way you've always been, but either way I can't have someone like you around me on a mission. I don't intend to be on alert for both you and zombies." Santana informed the young man calmly.

Brittany was surprised by how calmly Santana addressed Puck. She knew the brunette had a temper, she had been on the end of it herself, but to see her put down the boy without raising her voice even a little was admirable. Even she wanted to yell at Puck, and she wasn't one to really engage in arguments. Especially with someone she considers a friend and a brother.

"Yeah well last time I checked you weren't the boss of me. So I wonder how exactly you plan on stopping me." Puck sneered, stalking closer to Santana.

Before he could get too close though, he was suddenly in a chokehold. Brittany looked up expecting to see Brody as the instigator considering his volatile dynamic with the other boy, but she was surprised to see that it was Mike who had the boy subdued. In the few hours of knowing Mike she had never really seen him without a smile, but now looking at his stony face she saw the soldier. His face mirrored that of his three companions and no one made a move to stop him from hurting Puck. Even Sam took a few steps back, not wanting to draw attention to himself. She watched Santana walk over to the boy still struggling a bit in Mikes hold.

"Listen to me, and listen carefully," she heard the girl address Puck, "whether you trust us or not is your business. I can't change your mind and I don't want to. You will however, stay away from us. You're a novice with a gun and a bad attitude. You're a danger to yourself and anyone around you. Your problem right now is thinking you're the leader of that group when clearly you're not. So I suggest you take trouty mouth over there and your superiority complex and stay the fuck out of our way or trust me you will have bigger problems than those zombies keeping you in here." She finished, looking the boy straight in the eyes.

Brittany looked around at their audience. It seemed the other kids had heard the commotion and came to investigate. She wasn't sure what any of them were thinking, but she hoped they saw what happened that forced Mike and Santana to react that way. Puck was one of "them" and she knew they'd had each other's back for months, so loyalty would dictate that they choose Puck should it come down to it, if this whole situation was taken the wrong way. She hoped it wouldn't though, because if it did she wasn't sure what she would do.

"What's going on here?" Coach Sylvester asked, making her way through gathered crowd.

She watched as Santana signaled to Mike to release Puck, which he promptly did, causing the boy to fall unceremoniously to the floor.

"These guys are crazy coach. I told you we couldn't trust them. They attacked me for no reason!" the humiliated boy stammered.

"You know that's not true. You were being a jerk."Quinn said, shaking her head at the boy who was still on the floor.

"A jerk? You guys are the ones whispering in corners and going off all the time. They even wanted to drag Brit along with them. I was just looking out for her." He continued pleading his case.

"Brittany is a big girl. No one was forcing her to do anything. If you wanted to play with the big kids all you had to do was ask." Brody interjected, smirking at the predicament the boy found himself in.

"Fuck you." Puck sneered, finally lifting himself off the floor to stare down the four soldiers.

"That's enough!" the coach exclaimed forcefully, "Puckerman, go wait for me inside. It seems we need to have another chat." she continued, "Brittany, I trust that you're going with them willingly?" she asked.

"Yes coach. I promise I'm fine." Brittany answered, wanting this whole ordeal over and done with. It was getting embarrassing.

"Fine. Fabray I'm trusting you to look out for her. And whatever it is you all are doing, be careful." The coach finished, turning to head back inside.

"Yes coach." Both blondes answered at once, turning to share a smile.

Brittany watched as her friends slowly turned to follow the coach back inside, but not before glancing back at her questioningly. She gave them a reassuring smile before turning to follow the four soldiers to the roof.

"Well that was entertaining."Mike said, back to his smiling self.

"That guy needs to seriously chill out. You would think we held a gun to his head or something." Brody grumbled.

"Just ignore him. You know how it is, when you think you're the alpha male, and then another alpha shows up and threatens your position." Quinn said teasingly.

"I don't know how it is because that has never happened to me."Brody responded, puffing his chest up a little, making Quinn and Mike laugh.

Brittany smiled at their interaction, and then turned to the silent girl next to them. She knew Santana was tense from the rigid way she was carrying herself. For all her composure a few minutes ago, she looked like any sudden movement would set her off. Brittany wanted to talk to her about what happened, to reassure her that Puck was alone in his sentiments, but she didn't know the girl well enough to risk it when she was in that state.

"Give her a few minutes. When she's worked up she needs time to calm herself down." Quinn said, coming to stand next to her.

"Yeah it's that Latin temper." Mike said jokingly.

"I'm right here and I can hear you loud and clear you know that right?" Santana muttered, still not making eye contact with any of them.

"Of course. We weren't sharing secrets." Mike laughed.

"Whatever. We're here. Open the door Chang."Santana ordered.

"Sure thing boss." He replied, winking at her.

Brittany detected a hint of a smile at Mike's antics and breathed a small sigh of relief. It seemed Santana was relaxing again. The five of them stepped on to the roof and Brittany immediately took a deep breath. It wasn't the fresh scent she was hoping for, with rotting corpses roaming around and all, but it was better than the stale mall air she breathed on a regular basis. Quinn, Mike, Brody and Santana immediately set about to make sure everything was clear, when they assured themselves that it was, Santana beckoned her over.

"Hey. Sorry about Puck earlier. He was out of line." Brittany said when she reached the other girl.

"He was. But don't apologize for him. If he's sorry he'll come say it himself. You're not responsible for him." Santana chided gently.

Brittany nodded and looked away, then promptly wished she hadn't. After their encounter last night a zombie was the last thing she wanted to see right now. But there they were, surrounding their bus in all their rotting glory.

"The good news is, there was almost twice that many last night. The bad news is that it's still a hell of a lot to get through." Santana informed her, looking over at the thirty or so zombies below.

"It should be easier with the truck though shouldn't it?" Brittany asked, remembering how the zombies went after the truck last night when the sound of the engines seemed to have gotten to them.

"What do you mean?" Santana asked, giving the blonde her full attention.

"Well they hate loud noises right? Or at least they're attracted to it? And the truck is parked where we could easily get to it. What if someone drives the truck to the front to draw them away from the bus. I mean all we would need to do is run and hop in then we can all drive out of here." she finished, feeling a bit self conscious at the four pairs of eyes trained on her.

This felt like she was in school again, where the teacher would call on her and she would say something silly that had the whole class staring at her like she was stupid. She shuffled her feet a bit, wondering when someone would say something.

"Brittany Pierce you are a genius." Santana said, staring in awe at the girl. Brittany blushed at hearing those words. No one had ever called her a genius before. That it came from Santana made her heart feel ten times fuller.

"Yeah?" she whispered, staring at the other girl.

"Yeah." Santana said just as softly. Then louder to her friends, " Now that's a plan. You all can learn something from this." She scoffed at them.

"Well you didn't exactly come up with the idea yourself." Brody grumbled.

"Whatever. Let's get everyone packed and ready to go. If we can get on the road in the next hour or so, we can make it out of Ohio before the sun sets again. I don't want to be here another night." Santana said, urging her friends towards the door.

"Brit wait." She said, as Brittany was turning to follow the others. The blonde paused and glanced back at her. Santana looked a bit nervous and Brittany couldn't help but feel the same. Maybe not for the same reason as Santana, because her nerves came from just being alone with the other girl. She waited for Santana to continue.

"Remember I said I wanted to teach you something?"The other girl asked, still looking a bit nervous. "I wanted to teach you how to use my rifle. I mean, it's bigger than your handgun but it has a scope and it would help you with your aim." She finished after the blonde had nodded.

"Wow really? That would be awesome." She answered, smiling at the other girl.

"Really? Ok cool. I just wasn't sure you would want me to considering I made fun of you before." Santana said blushing slightly.

"Yeah you were a bit mean. But it's not like you were wrong. Our training was limited. So yeah I would like that very much." She teased.

"Ok come on. We can practice on some of those down there." Santana said, leading her over to the edge of the roof.

"Is that a good idea? Won't the sound f the gunshot send them into a frenzy?"She asked worriedly

"There's a silencer on it, don't worry."Santana reassured her.

"Are you like a sniper or something?" Brittany asked jokingly. When she got no reply she looked over at Santana, only to see her biting her lip and looking away.

"Oh my God you are!" she squealed, looking at the brunette with wide eyes.

"Let's just focus on the lesson ok?" Santana urged.

" Yeah sure. Sorry." Brittany said, still flustered.

"It's ok."Santana said, smiling at the girl. "Pick a target." she instructed.

"Um, how about the one near the second post away from the bus." She said, pointing briefly to where she meant.

"Ok good." Santana said, handing the rifle to Brittany. "This is a semi automatic. It has a pistol grip so holding it should be easy for you. Let me see your stance." She asked.

Brittany tried to remember what the coach taught her. They had one shot gun in their arsenal, and Sam usually had it when they ventured outside. Brittany got to hold it once or twice, so she adopted the stance she took when she did.

"Ok that's a bladed-off stance. I want you to learn a different stance to make it easier on your body. I'm gonna demonstrate and then you try ok?" Santana took the rifle and showed the blonde what she meant.

"This is an athletic stance. It's especially useful for moving targets, which is what we're mostly dealing with right now. So you're going to hold the rifle like so," Santana said, proceeding to demonstrate the stance she wanted Brittany to learn. Brittany nodded at everything the brunette was telling her, trying hard to ignore how attractive this teacher side of Santana was. It was hard though. Very hard.

"Ok now you try."Santana said, handing the weapon back over.

Brittany tried her best to emulate what Santana did. She wanted to make her proud. If Santana could take time to teach her these important lessons then she had no intention of letting her down. It was hard to imagine that two days ago she hadn't even known Santana existed, and now, on this roof, Santana was the only thing that existed. She didn't try to push that thought away as she usually would. It was just easier to embrace it.

"Like this?" she asked, after assuming the stance she remembered Santana had taken.

"Yeah but bring your arms up just a bit more." she instructed, shifting the blonde into the position she wanted her. Brittany hoped Santana didn't notice her shiver at the touch. "Ok good. That's perfect. Now look through the scope and search out your target." She continued.

When Brittany spotted the zombie she had singled out, she gave Santana a subtle nod.

"Ok, now you notice how everything is a bit magnified? Aim it at the head." Santana continued.

"Ok done."Brittany said in answer.

"Ok now bring it up just a bit more, then place your finger on the trigger. I want you to squeeze it ok? Not pull." Santana guided.

When Brittany did as instructed, she saw the targeted zombie fall to the ground. It was more of a faceshot than a headshot but she was still so happy she had done it. Turning excitedly to Santana she waited for the verdict.

"Well I'll be damned. Usually it takes someone a few tries before they actually hit the target but you did it in one. I'm an amazing teacher." she said jokingly brushing off her shoulders.

Brittany rolled her eyes and giggled at the other girl's antics. She lightly punched her in the shoulder for her comment.

"More like I'm the best student ever." Brittany replied, sticking her tongue out.

"You better put that back in your mouth." Santana said, poking the blonde lightly in the stomach.

Brittany grabbed the offending finger and tugged the girl a bit closer. She didn't know if it was the high of taking out that zombie on her first try, or if it was the ease of being with Santana that made her braver, but she decided to ignore the little nagging voice telling her it's too soon, that she didn't know Santana that well. After everything that's happened she didn't want to delay anything. She didn't want to think of the past or the future. She wanted to seize the moment. She wanted to be here, with Santana. She wanted to kiss Santana and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Just as they were leaning into each other, the sudden blaring sound of a siren cut through the moment like a hot knife. Pulling away abruptly both girls looked around for the source. Realizing that it was coming from inside the mall the shared a look of horror. Looking out at the parking lot, what Brittany saw made her blood run cold. All the aimless zombies had a purpose because they were now heading towards the doors of the mall. Not just the ones that were in the parking lot. Looking further toward the roads leading into the parking lot, she saw more zombies heading in their direction, undoubtedly drawn by the sound of the siren.

"Oh no. Fuck Fuck Fuck!" Santana swore next to her.

Brittany could only nod in response, too horrified to form words. The only thought running through her mind was "This wasn't a part of the plan".

**A/N: Ok this is it for now. I've already started on the next part so that should be coming soon. Time to see what these guys are made of. Reviews are appreciated thanks. Until next time. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys. Someone guessed right about the alarm :D. And omg Michonne has a sword! A sword! It's everything I never knew I wanted! Someone in this fic is getting a sword. I don't know who. I don't know when. I don't know how. But someone is getting one. Don't fight me on this! It's happening. Now on to the chapter :D**

Chapter 6

Santana surveyed the surrounding area with a critical eye, willing some of the initial panic that had gripped her away. Grabbing Brittany's hand she led them back inside towards the others, immediately searching out the source of the blaring alarm. When she noticed the sound was coming from the west side she turned to Brittany.

"Get summer and the others ready, we have a few minutes at most to get out of here. Take only what you need." She instructed the blonde, who seemed to have finally snapped out of her stupor.

"Ok but where are you going?" Brittany asked.

"To find that fucking alarm and shut it off before every zombie in Lima decides to come throw us a farewell party." She answered, already running towards the sound.

She honestly could not believe this was happening. Everything was going so well. Too well it seems. Now her mind was racing a mile a minute trying to come up with a new way to get them all out of there.

"Quinn! What the fuck is going on?" she asked, noticing her and Mike in front of an electronics store, searching for the panel of the alarm that was heralding the zombie swarm.

"Ask that idiot over there!" she exclaimed, pointing to a figure huddled at the side.

Walking over to the person, she noticed it was that boy in the wheelchair. "What the fuck did you do?" she snarled at shaking boy.

"I…I was just trying to help. I wanted to find a way to get off a signal. I figured since we were getting out of here soon it wouldn't hurt to look around this side. I just wanted to be useful." He whimpered.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? Every fucking zombie within a ten mile radius is heading this way!" she yelled in the sudden silence, barely noticing that the alarm had stopped.

"Santana we don't have time for this. We have to get out of here." Mike said pulling on her arm to get her moving.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know there would be alarms on the stores." Artie said, wheeling as fast as he could to keep up with them.

Santana ignored him. There wasn't enough time for her to point out the many ways that was stupid. In fact they were lucky the stores they had accessed _didn't_ have alarms. It seemed luck was on their side until now.

"Santana what's the plan?" Brody asked, bringing their weapons bag as he ran to meet them halfway. She looked at the panicking faces of the kids staring at her before shaking her head.

"Honestly I don't know. The fact remains that we still need the bus. There's no other way to get us all out of here." She answered, holstering two pistols to her hips.

"There's no way we could get to it now, you saw how many of those things were coming." Brittany intervened, holding a shaking Summer.

"There is one way. We'll just have to fight our way out." She told the assembled group.

"Are you crazy? We're not trained soldiers like you guys. We'll get killed the minute we step outside." Mercedes jumped in, shaking her head in denial of Santana's idea.

"You may not be trained soldiers but you have weapons and are capable of using them. If you can't kill them then incapacitate them enough to allow you to get away." Quinn said while loading bullets into her gun.

"Are all your weapons fully loaded?" Brody asked the group.

"Not fully. But each gun is at least half full." Coach Sylvester answered, holding up her trusted shot gun up for appraisal.

"We have extras. I need everyone to have at least two guns before we go out there." He told her, nodding to the bag where there was an assortment.

Santana could hear the grumbles of uncertainty within the group. She knew they had spent the majority of their six months here locked away in relative safety. The road ahead wasn't going to be easy for them; she honestly wasn't sure they could all make it but hoped she was wrong.

"Here" She heard Brittany say as she held out her rifle to her. Ignoring the outstretched hand, Santana grabbed a box of bullets, handing them to the blonde instead.

"No I want you to keep it. It holds more bullets and it'll make it easier for you to maneuver." She told her.

She saw the brief reluctance in Brittany's eyes before she took the bullets. They were both snapped back to reality by the sound of breaking glass.

"Fuck! Santana we have to leave now. Let's go!" Brody yelled as they all ran to the back where the truck was.

"Brody take Summer and Stevie in the truck with you and Quinn and draw as many away from the bus as possible. That's the direction we're heading." Santana said bringing up the rear as everyone approached the door.

"Roger that." He answered, releasing the latch and pulling up the door. Looking to make sure everything was clear first, he swore loudly at the sight of a dozen or so zombies coming towards them.

"They've never really been down here before, at least not that many." Rachel said, backing up a little as if to go back inside.

"Yeah well they're here now. Get ready guys." Brody said, jumping into the driver's seat.

Brittany hugged her sister close before placing her in the back passenger seat. Summer refused to let go of her though, tightening her arms around the older girl's neck.

"Stay here Brit. I'm scared. I don't want them to get you." She cried.

"Summer, look at me." Brittany said, prying her sister's arms from around her neck. "I have to help everyone. The only way we can all get out of here together is by fighting and getting the bus back. I'll be back with you in no time. Just listen to Quinn and Brody and be good ok? You're strong. Never forget that." She kissed the little girl's forehead before closing the door. Nodding to Brody and ignoring her sister's pleas, she rejoined the group.

"I'll do everything in my power to get you back to her Brittany. I'm so sorry it's come to this." Santana said to the clearly distraught girl.

Shaking her head Brittany turned to Santana, "Don't do that. Don't make promises like that Santana. I'm not dumb; I know we could all die today. I just need to know that at least for now she's safe."

"She is. The truck is reinforced. They'll protect her." She reassured her.

Santana watched as the truck plowed through the zombies that were headed their way. She saw as the heads of some were crushed beneath the large tires before she and Mike proceeded to dispatch the rest. Signaling to everyone that it was time, she took a deep breath and ran towards the front.

Some of the zombies were following the truck, being drawn by the sound of the engine. The majority though, were focused on getting into the mall despite the fact that the alarm had stopped. She knew the group hadn't been spotted yet, and looked quickly to everyone. Seeing them as ready as they'll ever be she raised her gun and started to fire.

The sound of the gunfire immediately turned the attention of the horde towards them. She saw them stagger towards the group and continued her assault on the ones closest to them. Mike was a little away from her, doing the same thing. When they had gotten near enough that their foul scent was all that could be smelled, she saw Mike nod. Stopping her fire immediately she signaled to everyone to follow her as she ran towards the side away from the onslaught.

"What are we doing? We can't just leave him!" she heard Brittany yell.

"Are you forgetting so soon?" She asked the blonde. When she saw it finally click, she winked.

"Everyone get down!" she yelled as Mike released the clip on the grenade, before running towards them.

The subsequent 'BOOM' rocked the parking lot, dismembering at least a quarter of the gathered zombies. The group quickly gathered their wits and made a sudden dash towards the bus in the middle of the swarm. Santana didn't have time to make sure they were all doing ok, she just hoped they remembered their instructions. The objective was the bus. There was no way they'd be able to kill all of the zombies gathered. They just needed to get them out of the way. Shoot to incapacitate. Shoot to slow down. And if you can, shoot to kill. But get to the bus.

Loud music suddenly blasted through the parking lot. Another one of Brody's attraction tactics Santana presumed, and made a mental note to criticize him on his music selection when this was all over. While more of the zombies were drawn to the sound of Queens "We Are the Champions" Santana found coach Sylvester and urged her to follow her lead.

While the two made a mad dash towards the bus they could see getting closer, Brittany picked off as many that hobbled after them as she could. Santana felt a brief swell of pride at the way the girl was using the rifle. One lesson and she was already so good.

She saw the coach blow away a few zombies blocking their path and wondered how the hell a high school cheerleading coach became so proficient with a gun. The woman was practically in her element, yelling like a banshee and dispatching as many as humanly possible.

The sudden hold on her arm alerted Santana to her carelessness. Turning to the creature that had her in a vice grip, she braced herself before slamming her head into his. As he became momentarily disoriented, she grabbed the hunting knife in her belt, jamming it into the middle of its forehead, watching as it dropped to the ground. Pulling the knife out she discarded the gun, noting it was empty.

"You ok?" the coach asked.

"Yeah. I got a bit careless, sorry." She answered.

"That's ok. You have great survival instincts. You remind me of a young Sue Sylvester." The woman said, continuing to blast her way through. "You would have made the perfect cheerio." she finished, nodding at Santana in approval.

Santana briefly wondered what survival instincts had to do with being a cheerleader but decided to let it go. Their objective was closer and she needed to keep her eyes on the prize. A sudden scream ripped through the air, grabbing both women's attention. She felt the breath seize in her throat as she saw one of the girls, the Asian one, get her arm ripped into by a zombie that had managed to come up behind her.

"TINA!" Brittany screamed, trying to get to her friend. It was too late though, as nearby zombies latched on to their companion's spoil, tearing into the girl like the ravenous monsters they were.

Santana grabbed her other gun and urged the coach to continue on. She saw the pain on the woman's face as they turned away and began blasting the zombies nearer to them with renewed fervor. She understood how the woman felt. It was never easy losing someone you loved, but they still had others to protect.

When they finally made it to the bus the coach made a run for it. Noticing the door was open, Santana stopped her. Open doors meant company. They had to proceed with caution.

"I'll go make sure it's clear before you go in. Cover me." She instructed the older woman. Receiving a nod she aimed her gun and went in.

Cautiously making her way through the bus she was on alert for any surprises. That was the first time she had seen a zombie kill someone. When they set out to get to Lima, they had been the killers. No zombie had gotten close enough to them to bite, let alone kill them, except for the incident with Judy. Seeing that happen to the girl, to Tina, was nauseating. It was probably the same thing that happened to her parents. The same thing that would happen to Brittany and Summer if she didn't get them out of there. All of them.

Noting thankfully that the bus was empty she called to the coach to jump in. Turning the keys in the ignition, they listened as it sputtered a few times before coming to life. Letting out a yell of triumph the woman took off to gather the others after Mike had jumped in.

The first one they got to was Mercedes, who was being backed into a corner by the hungry creatures. Santana quickly got rid of those nearest to the girl, careful not to hit her, before pulling her inside.

"Thank you God." The girl said as she began praying in earnest.

"Actually it's Santana and you're welcome." She muttered.

The next to get on was Rachel, who despite her earlier apprehension was holding her own quite well. Santana made a mental note of this for future reference if needed. The girl looked over with a large smile and ran towards them, abandoning her victims in favor of safety.

Kurt and Blaine, always together Santana noticed, were next. They were doing more of an evasive tactic, not allowing any of the zombies to get too close before running in the opposite direction. She couldn't be too annoyed because it seemed to be working for them.

After they hopped in, they drove a little further to get Puck, who it seemed was taking out his anger with a baseball bat, having offloaded his weapons a lot earlier. It took the coach honking the horn a few times before the boy abandoned the body he was currently smashing into. After body checking Santana he took the seat next to Rachel as they continued towards Brittany.

Santana wasn't sure why the girl was stagnant near an alcove close to one of the doors. It was dangerous considering that's where the majority of the zombies had been gravitating to. She didn't have to wonder too long before noticing the two people practically cowering behind the blonde. Wheelchair kid and trouty mouth seemed to have lost their guts. Santana had never seen such a pathetic display of cowardice in her life. She didn't care if they were civilians, this was life or death.

Seeing the blonde was about to be overwhelmed, she jumped out of the bus while the coach honked the horn, hoping to not only draw away some of the zombies, but to get the kids attention. She saw the relief on trouty mouths face when he saw the bus, and watched as the boy grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.

"No!" Santana screamed, because although their appearance had drawn some of the zombies towards her, there was still too much for them to get through as yet.

"Sam what are you doing? Turn back!" Artie screeched as the blonde tried to plow through the few that were blocking their escape to the bus.

He underestimated the strength of the creatures though, because they descended on the two boys before they could really get their bearings. Sam seemed to have been mobilized into finally using his gun and started firing wildly at the horde.

"Arrrhg!" they all heard Artie scream. He hadn't been as quick as Sam to draw his gun and had no defense as three of them bit into him at the same time, cutting off his screams as his throat was ripped out.

The incident seemed to have frozen Sam, as he stood watching open mouthed as his friend was devoured, forgetting his own predicament. The sudden lunge of one of the zombies caused him to fall flat to the ground, the creature on top of him in a second. Before it could bite into the boy, a bullet ripped into its head, causing it to slump over, dead.

Pushing the body away from him, he looked up to see Brittany, rifle still pointed and glaring at him.

"Get on the fucking bus." She growled at him. Sam could only nod as he crawled away from the fallen bodies, noticing for the first time that all the zombies that had been surrounding them were dead.

Before taking a seat he glanced back, noting the cold blue eyes of the girl he loved staring at him before looking at Artie's mangled corpse. Turning away, he took a seat at the back, not making eye contact with anyone.

Santana watched the scene unfold with a mixture of anger and sadness. Anger at the blatant stupidity of the blonde boy and sadness at the loss the other boy. He may have been the cause of this, but he didn't deserve to go the way he did. Walking over to Brittany, she gently took the taller girl's hand.

"Come on. We have to go." She urged. The girl only nodded as they made their way on to the bus, away from the second wave of creatures heading their way.

As they drove towards the exit, there was a somber atmosphere. Santana knew the others were thinking of the friends they lost. She hadn't known the two, but she felt the loss as acutely as if she had. She had promised Brittany she would get them all out of there, but she couldn't keep that promise. Dropping her head to the seat in front of her she was surprised to feel the blonde connect their hands.

Looking over she saw the girl give a tearful smile, and Santana squeezed back. It had been an awful morning for everyone. All things considered they fared better than she expected and for that she was grateful. She looked out the window to see the black truck pull up next to them. She saw Brody salute, a sign that everyone was ok and accounted for and felt more tension leave her body.

She was pulled from her quiet musings by a loud pop. Ignoring the surprised screams of the bus' occupants she went to the front, knowing immediately what it was. A flat tire. 'Just what they needed', she thought sarcastically. The coach steered the bus to the side and everyone exited. When Brody pulled over next to them, she saw Quinn open the back door, allowing Summer to run to her big sister.

"Brittany!" she exclaimed, jumping into her sister's arms. Brittany just held the little girl tightly to her, no doubt relieved to have her near again.

"We lost two?" she heard Quinn ask, coming to stand next to her as they watched Mike try to change the tire quickly.

"Yeah." She answered simply, still trying to wrap her mind around the earlier events. Quinn nodded, accepting this answer as she knows how Santana processes.

"Uh…guys? Heads up!" Brody warned pointing to the dozen zombies headed their way. Apparently they hadn't gotten far enough away to be clear.

"Shit." Santana cursed, knowing that they were just about out of ammunition.

"Mike how much longer you got down there?" she asked, hoping they could get up and running before the zombies reached them.

"One of the lugs is tight, I'm having some trouble getting it off." He answered.

"Dammit. Move over, let me see." Brody said, kneeling next to the other man.

While they tried to take care of the spare tire, Santana went over to Brittany and Summer.

"Hey, I need you to get into the back of the truck." She told the blonde, shaking her head before Brittany could argue.

After the blonde got in, she leaned over and pulled back a plastic covering, revealing the longest rifle she's sure Brittany has ever seen if the widening of her eyes is any indication.

"This is an M82 Barrett Special. Way too big to carry around." She said, jumping into the back and setting it up on the stand. "I need you to be on alert. Just remember what I taught you and be prepared to shoot if necessary." She instructed, glancing quickly behind her to make sure the zombies were still a good distance away.

"Can't you do it?" the blonde asked, looking a bit intimidated. Santana smiled at her and pulled out her hunting knife.

"Sorry, it seems close combat has my name on it if they don't get that tire on before those things reach us." She admitted, pointing to the fact that she was out of ammo.

An exclamation of triumph from Mike signaled their success in loosening the lug to get the wheel off. Santana turned back to Brittany, smiling at the look of concentration on her face as she inspected the rifle.

"You were great out there Brit. I'm proud of you." She said to the girl, pulling her attention away from the rifle.

"Not great enough. I couldn't save Tina or Artie." She said, looking away.

"You're not always going to be able to save everyone. That's something I had to learn as well." She said, feeling inadequate in the face of the girl's grief.

"Santana! We have company." She heard Quinn call out. Looking over quickly, she saw that at some point the zombies had decided to speed up with the promise of fresh prey only a few feet away.

"Shit." She muttered. "Remember what I taught you." She said to the blonde, before grabbing a protesting Summer and placing her back on the floor inside the truck.

Running towards Quinn she shouted orders at the assembled group. "If you don't have any weapons get back on the bus. The rest of you fall in line." She said immediately switching back to military mode.

After everyone scrambled to do as they were told, she looked at those who fell in line. With Mike now able to deal with the tire on his own it was her, Brody, Coach Sylvester, Blaine, Quinn, Puck, and Rachel who revealed she had taken Sam's gun since the boy seemed unable to move.

As the nearest one lunged at them Santana plunged her knife into its head, pulling it out just in time to take on another one. It continued this way for a few minutes, everyone doing their best to hold off the zombies, with Brittany occasionally sending a bullet through some that found their way through the line. Mike's yell of all clear got her attention. She urged the kids and coach back on the bus, much to their obvious relief.

She was about to join them when she heard a yelp, looking back in time to see Blaine had somehow tripped on his way back. Watching the remaining few zombies lunge for him; she knew there was no way she could get to him with her knife in time. The rifle Brittany had could only take out one at a time and wouldn't be enough to save him.

She heard a high pitched scream and saw Kurt struggle to get off the bus to go to his fallen boyfriend, but was being held back by Puck. Before she could attempt to get to the boy she saw coach Sylvester run pass her.

"Mercedes get to the front of the bus." She yelled at the girl.

"Hey what are you doing?" Santana asked, knowing full well the woman was out of ammunition.

"I'm not losing any more of them!" she exclaimed as she used the length of the gun to ram into the four zombies bearing down on the boy.

"Dammit!" Santana cursed, following behind the woman to grab Blaine up off the floor where one of the fallen zombies had been trying to nip at his heels.

She shoved him towards the door of the bus before turning back to the coach. She saw Quinn had come back to join in, having reloaded her gun, but it was already too late. One of them had their teeth in the woman's shoulder, ecstatically feasting on the blood gushing from the wound.

"Get out of here!" the woman managed to yell, still giving orders even though more zombies had latched on to her.

Quinn refused to leave though. Santana watched as the blonde shot at the zombies that were tearing into her old coach, half blinded by the tears streaming down her face. Looking back, Santana saw Brittany's face mirrored Quinn's. She knew they were both losing not just a coach, but a mentor. She felt her heart break for them. She may not have known the woman well, but she knew what she had done for those kids. As the only mature adult among them, she had protected them to the best of her ability. She had kept them alive for six months while everything else went to hell. Even now, she chose to die to protect them. There weren't many people like Sue Sylvester. That was a fact.

"Quinn come on. We have to go."Santana urged her friend.

"Not yet. There's something I have to do first."Quinn replied, walking over to the body of the fallen woman after getting rid of the zombies.

Santana saw Brittany who had jumped from the back of the truck run over to them. She stared down at the unmoving body of her former coach, and Santana watched as she fought a fresh wave of tears. By now, the other kids had exited the bus and were off to the side trying to appear strong, but Santana saw the grief in all of them.

"What are you doing?" Puck exclaimed, looking at Quinn.

Santana saw that her friend had raised her gun and was now pointing it at the head of the corpse.

"I don't really know how it happens, but I know that a head shot kills those things. I'm not going to have her legacy tarnished by allowing her to turn into one of those monsters. She deserves better." Quinn replied, getting emotional.

"I agree." Brittany said quietly, nodding at Quinn.

The other blonde returned the gesture and turned back to the body, once more raising her gun. Ignoring Pucks continued protests, Santana saw her hesitate for only a second before firing the bullet to the center of the woman's head. It was bittersweet, having to watch as they left a great part of themselves behind, and Santana made a silent vow to the woman that she would do her best protect the people she loved enough to die for.

"Can we ride in the back of the truck? I'm really not in the mood to be around other people right now." Brittany said to her as they walked back to the vehicles.

"Yeah of course." She answered quietly.

"Brittany, I'm so sorry." Blaine said, blaming himself for what happened.

Brittany simply nodded to him and continued walking away. He sadly got into the bus and took his seat next to Kurt, hoping no one noticed the way he subtly rubbed his leg.

When they all piled into the two vehicles, Mercedes now driving the bus, they headed for the Lima exit. Santana hoped they didn't encounter anymore zombies as Brittany silently rested her head on her shoulder, clearly exhausted and grief stricken by today's events.

Two hours later, Santana and Brittany were jolted awake by the Truck making a sudden stop. She wondered what could possibly be wrong now when Brody called out from the front.

"Hey Santana, we came into Lima with relatively no obstacles right?" he asked. There was something in his voice Santana couldn't quite place.

"Yeah we did. Why?" she answered warily.

"Well I'm just wondering why all of a sudden the U.S Army has seen fit to greet us on our exit." He replied, getting out of the truck.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, jumping out the back to see what he was talking about.

If she wasn't suspicious of what went down in Ohio and the other nearby states, Santana would have been overjoyed to see the forty to fifty soldiers lined off at the border, but that wasn't the case. Now she was even more convinced that someone was hiding something. She walked up to Quinn and Brody who were saluting the man obviously in charge, and offered a salute of her own.

She couldn't see his eyes behind his dark aviators but Santana didn't appreciate the smug smile and lack of acknowledgment from the man. They weren't even five minutes into their meeting and already he was breaking protocol. Still, the four soldiers introduced themselves, with rank, to the silent man, and waited for his move.

"Major Frank Bernard. Can you soldiers tell me what you think you're doing here?" he asked.

"Sir, we're trying to get these civilians to safety. The town is infested with zombies." Brody answered still at attention.

"I know it is. Why do you think we're here soldier?"

"Sir I wasn't aware that the military was carrying out operations here." Just then, they saw one of the other soldiers whisper something to the major.

"Oh now of course you didn't son. It seems you and your comrades here are listed as AWOL." He said.

"Sir, I had family here. I needed to make sure they were ok. It's my fault." Santana intervened, even though the man was giving her the creeps he was still her superior.

"Each soldier takes responsibility for their own actions. The fault lies with all of you." He corrected her.

"We're fully prepared to face our punishment when we get back to base sir." Brody said, before Santana could protest.

"Back to the base? Now that might be a bit of a problem. You see unlike you I have my orders. My orders are that no one leaves the town. There's an infestation, as you've mentioned already. You might be infected yourselves for all we know." He finished smugly.

"No offense sir but if we were infected you would know it." Santana said, glaring at the man's unprofessional display.

"I can't take that chance. My orders were no one comes out, so I suggest you turn right around before I have to take action. This is hostile territory after all."

"Sir my mother is General Sally Weston stationed at Fort Drum New York. If you could contact her and tell her we're here you'll see that your orders can be amended." Brody informed him.

"You think I care who your mommy is boy? I take my orders from one person and it sure as hell isn't her. So like I said, turn around!" he said forcefully, getting into Brody's face.

Santana felt helpless. They were no match against fifty soldiers and three tanks. If the major was as fucked in the head as she thought, he wouldn't think twice to attack them. No one would question the whereabouts of some kids who should be dead and four AWOL soldiers.

Just then, the same soldier approached the general and gave him a cellular phone. Taking it, he walked a few feet away from them, glancing over occasionally as he took instructions from someone on the other end. Whatever it was the person was saying obviously wasn't sitting well with the Major, but he agreed and hung up.

"Well it seems mommy dearest was quite surprised to learn you were here. And quite relieved that you're ok." He said reluctantly.

"Thank you. Now could you let us through?" Brody asked smugly.

"Oh I have my orders to escort you." He said, taking off his aviators. "But I'm not talking to you." He said to Brody. "Dr. Maribel Lopez has instructed us to bring her daughter and her companions to our research facility in Washington D.C." He finished looking directly at Santana.

Santana froze at this. She wasn't sure she heard correctly. Her mother was alive? She was in Washington D.C. at a research facility? What the fuck was going on?

**A/N: I debated so much about Sue. I love that woman. Sadly I think she brought them as far as she could. Also, to anyone who's considering watching The Walking Dead, I'm going to give you advice I wish I had taken. Don't. Get. Attached. Sigh. My faves are dropping like flies and I'm so sad. I've been crying my eyes out lol. Please read and review if you can. I'd appreciate it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So this is a brief respite from the events of the previous chapter. It's short and basically just a change of setting. We're done with Lima (for now) and we've moved on to what they all hope is a safe zone. Is there such a thing? Plus I see some of you are upset/sad about Sue in the last chapter. Believe me so am I, but some things are unavoidable. I loved her too :(. Here we go.**

Chapter 7

Brittany watched silently as Santana seemed to struggle with something. Since rejoining the group after talking with the Army guys, the other girl had been deep in thought, and somehow Brittany felt it would be best to leave her alone for a while. That was over an hour ago. Now they were seated in a military helicopter on their way to Washington DC for reasons unknown to her and she felt it best to finally voice her thoughts.

"Santana are you ok? You've been pretty quiet since talking to those soldiers." She said carefully, hoping she was ready to talk. The other girl sighed and turned to her.

"I'm sorry Brittany. I just get lost in my head sometimes when things are hard for me to grasp. Did I ever tell you why we came back to Lima?" she asked.

"No. I figured since Quinn went to McKinley and is from Lima that it had something to do with her." She replied interested to know where the conversation was going.

"That's partially true. I'm from Lima too."

"Really? How come I've never seen you before? I definitely would have remembered." She teased, hoping to get a smile from Santana, which she did.

"I went to a private school, and my parents had a thing about me hanging out with people they deemed 'beneath me' ", she said using air quotes. "Well anyway long story short, I moved to New York and joined the army. They disapproved of course, like they usually did with any decision I made on my own." She continued, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"When I heard what was happening in Ohio I had to come back for them. They may not be up for any awards as far as parenting goes, but they're mine. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't come back. But when we got there I found no sign of them. Wait that's wrong, I think I saw my dad the day we were chased out of my house by zombies, just before we found you guys." She said.

"And your mom?" Brittany asked.

"That's what I can't grasp. She's the reason we're going to Washington. She's there at some research facility, and she seems to have some pull with the military that's patrolling the borders of the infested towns."

"That's good right? Maybe she was out of town when this all went down."

"Yeah Maybe. I guess we'll find out when we get there." Santana said, turning back to watch the scenery as they continued to their destination.

Brittany continued to sneak occasional glances at the girl, hoping the situation turned out to be good, because she knew Santana was expecting the worse. Her body language screamed aversion to everything happening at the moment.

Brittany for her part was glad to be getting away from Lima. She'd heard a few of the soldiers talking and knew Washington had not been affected by whatever was turning people into zombies. After what they had just endured she was grateful to be leaving it all behind. She felt a pang in her chest as she thought of her parents, Sue, Artie and Tina. She would miss them all for a very long time, probably forever, but she knew they would be so happy knowing everyone else was safe.

"Blaine are you ok?" she heard Kurt ask and turned towards them.

It was her, Summer, Santana, Kurt and Blaine sharing one helicopter, and she'd noticed Blaine looking paler than usual, and had figured it was because of all that happened a few hours ago. But looking at him now, the slight chills and the sweat almost dripping off him, she wondered if he was sick.

"I'm alright Kurt, don't worry. Just not a big fan of flying that's all." He answered, noticeably avoiding eye contact with his concerned boyfriend.

"Since when? We've been on planes together lots of times before and you never got sick." Kurt persisted, reaching over to wipe his brow.

"I said I'm fine Kurt!" he exclaimed, knocking away his boyfriend's hand before he could touch him.

"Ok…sorry. No need to snap." Kurt answered, looking embarrassed.

"Maybe you should chill out a bit." Santana's voice cut in, raising an eyebrow at Blaine.

"Maybe you should all leave me alone. I said I'm fine and that's all there is to it." He snapped at her, turning his back to the group and resting his head against the seat.

"Just drop it guys, there's no talking to him when he's like this." Kurt said softly.

"You've seen him like this before? The Blaine Warbler I know never gets upset for no reason, and definitely not at you." Brittany said to Kurt.

"I think it's the stress of what happened with the coach back there. He probably blames himself." Kurt whispered, careful that Blaine didn't overhear.

"She made her decision. Everyone is responsible for their own actions." Santana said, unconsciously echoing the Major's words to her earlier.

"Yeah but she was trying to save him. I think that's the part that's not sitting well at the moment. Do you know she used to hate us?" Kurt asked, and Brittany laughed remembering some of Sue Sylvester's anti glee club antics.

"Yeah. She tried so hard to get glee club canceled and almost succeeded a few times much to Rachel's dismay." Brittany chimed in, remembering the days of being one of the coach's henchmen.

"The look on her face when Figgins asked her to co-lead the new directions." Kurt laughed along with her, both reminiscing about happier times.

"The nude erections?" Santana asked skeptically.

"The New Directions." Brittany corrected swatting Santana's leg playfully; looking over to make sure Summer was still asleep and hadn't heard.

"That's a ridiculous name. So gross." Santana teased, turning to listen to the two friends.

"Yeah well we were awesome. We won nationals two years in a row for your information." Kurt said a bit smugly.

"Is that where you guys were when this happened?" Santana asked.

"No that was sectionals, which we also won by the way." Brittany answered.

"Wow. Sister Mary Clarence would be so proud." She smiled at them.

"Who?" Kurt asked looking perplexed.

"Sister Mary Clarence? You know, from Sister Act 2? Whoopi Goldberg? Where she turned a bunch of kids into a show choir?" she asked, looking at them like they had grown two heads. When all she got were blank faces she shook her head.

"You kids today don't know classics." She scoffed.

"Kids? And how old are you grandma?" Kurt asked.

"I am a very mature twenty two thank you very much." She replied.

"Well we're eighteen so our classics should be the same as yours." Brittany informed her.

Blaine's sudden coughing fit drew their attention from their banter. There was clearly more going on here than the other boy was letting on. As they listened to him with varying degrees of concern, Blaine seemed to have picked up on the silence and turned slightly to them.

"You guys should tell her how you stole me from the warblers which happened to be two years ago when you started winning everything. Isn't that ironic?" he teased, before launching into another coughing fit.

"We didn't steal you, you chased me all the way to McKinley like a love sick puppy."Kurt replied, smiling softly at the other boy, but unable to hide his concern.

"Yeah I guess I did. Best decision I ever made." he said, smiling back at his boyfriend, hoping he could read the apology in his eyes.

Brittany watched the display with mounting anxiety. There was something they were missing, she knew it. Her mind tried to reason that it was probably some sort of flu Blaine was coming down with, but the reasonable part of her knew the symptoms came on too fast and too strong for that to be it.

She glanced over and saw her anxiety mirrored in Santana's eyes. The other girl was watching Blaine closely, looking for signs of something in the boy's body language. Pulling her sister closer to her, Brittany relaxed back into the seats just as the captain told them to prepare for landing. She was relieved, hoping they could get Blaine to a doctor as soon as possible.

'Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling was an impressive place' Brittany thought as they were ushered through the halls of the base. She'd never been on a military base before and found herself fascinated by not only the landscape but the buildings themselves.

Around her, various military personnel observed their group, some with respect, others with mild disdain. She couldn't really blame the latter though, because they all looked like they'd crawled out of a war zone. That thought reminded her that it had been a while since she had a nice hot shower, and hoped that it was one of the luxuries afforded them while in "military custody".

She watched as Major Bernard walked up to two older looking gentlemen in decorated uniforms that seemed to have been waiting for them to arrive. She couldn't really hear what the men were saying but didn't miss the looks of interest they kept sending Santana's way. Glancing over at the girl, Brittany noted that she was well aware of being the topic of the men's conversation and didn't like it, if the scowl on her face was anything to go by.

As the men wrapped up their conversation and approached, the four soldiers among them stood at attention.

"Good Afternoon. General Theodore Holt and General Mitchell Wade at your service." A tall gray haired man with the standard military crew cut introduced.

As she listened to Santana and the other soldiers introduce themselves she appraised the men. They were both older men, she would guess somewhere between sixty to sixty five, but where General Wade looked mild in personality, a welcoming smile on his face, General Holt looked the opposite. He was intimidating from the top of his well kept crew cut down to his black shiny, spotless shoes. He reminded her of Major Bernard, they both gave her the creeps.

"Your mother has told us quite a bit about you young lady." General Holt addressed Santana. At her nod of acknowledgement he continued, "We were all very impressed with your quick rise through the ranks. That takes hard work and dedication. All of you actually. Your files were quite an interesting read." He finished.

"Thank you sir, but if you don't mind me asking, where is my mother? I was informed she was here at a research facility?" Santana asked. Brittany wondered if the general noticed the slight edge to her voice.

"Don't worry, you'll see her soon enough. But first we need to interview you and your friends about what happened back in Ohio. We have an interrogation room set up. If you would follow us, we'll see how quickly we can get through this." He answered, gesturing for them to follow him and his companions down a deserted hallway.

"We'll need the utmost privacy for these interviews." General Wade disclosed, noting the anxious faces in the group.

The group was led to a waiting area because the interviews had to be done separately they were told. They all took a seat as one by one each was called into a small room. Even Summer was interviewed alone, which Brittany protested to the point where Santana had to physically restrain her from going in with her sister.

When it was her turn she entered the room cautiously. She noticed that there was only a table and three chairs. One for her and the other two for the generals. Taking a seat she nervously waited for what was to come.

"Miss Brittany Pierce. Eighteen years old. Daughter of Paul and Susan Pierce. Sister of one Summer Pierce. Senior at William McKinley High School. Are all these statements accurate?" General Holt asked, reading from a file in front of him.

"Yes. I mean… Yes sir they're accurate. Well except for the senior part. I would have already graduated two months ago." She responded nervously, uncomfortable with the way they both seemed to stare her down.

"But you were a senior in High school when the unfortunate events occurred." General Wade said gently, trying to calm the nervousness she exuded.

"Yes sir." She answered.

"And can you tell us, from the beginning, exactly what happed on the day you discovered what was happening in Lima?" General Holt continued.

Brittany proceeded to recite the events she'd memorized, now adding when they met Santana and the others to what happened just before they met the major. After she was done, both men nodded, making little notes in their files.

"Now Ms. Pierce I want you to do something for me. I want you to think back on your encounters with the…creatures. I want you to tell me about their movements, what sounds they made; at any point were the coherent?"General Wade asked, looking at her intently.

Brittany wasn't sure why they were asking these specific questions, but she figured they were helping, probably looking for a way to deal with the zombies, so she would cooperate to the best of her ability.

"Their movements were jerky, like they couldn't walk straight. They dragged their feet mostly. Sounds? Um they moaned a lot. Sometimes they would open their mouths really wide and it would sound like scream but in a low dull way. I don't know if this is making any sense." She said, looking apologetically at General Wade. He simply nodded and urged her to continue, all the while taking notes.

"They never showed signs of knowing anyone," she said, thinking of her parents, "They just lunged at anything that was living, they just attacked." She finished softly.

"Alright Ms. Pierce that's enough for now thank you. We'll work with this information." General Wade said, standing and ushering her out the door to join her friends.

"Brittany are you ok?"Mercedes asked, going over to her.

"Yeah I'm good thanks Mercedes. It wasn't as bad as I thought." she said, as she heard the man call Sam's name to signal it was his turn.

"I found their line of questioning weird and oddly specific."Rachel chimed in.

"They're collecting data." Quinn said, overhearing the friends' conversation.

"Data for what? Do you think they know what's going on?"Rachel asked her, noting the blonde seemed a bit on edge.

"I don't know. What do you think Santana?" she asked her friend, who had been quietly awaiting her turn.

"I don't know either." she answered, avoiding Mike's surprised look. She wasn't ready to share her theory with an entire group, especially now that she knew her mother was somehow involved. She needed answers first.

"Well I don't like this at all." Kurt piped up. "I feel like we're guinea pigs and we're being assessed, even now." He finished, looking around for hidden cameras.

"Maybe they can help though. Maybe they have a cure here." Blaine said softly, sitting alone in a corner.

"You really think there's a cure for whatever has people like that?" Mercedes turned to him.

"Actually that was the cure." Cut in a voice at the door. They all watched as a woman, dressed in a sophisticated looking pant suit with a white lab coat thrown over it, enter the room.

Brittany watched as the older woman with classically beautiful features and graying black hair surveyed their group, before her eyes landed on Santana, who was making her way towards her.

"It all started as a cure for mental illness that somehow deteriorated into...that. Hello Santana." She said, nodding to the young woman who had come to a stop in front of her.

"Mother." She replied with no emotion in her voice.

Brittany watched as the two women stared each other down, the tension between them almost tangible. No one made a sound, waiting to see what transpired next between mother and daughter. She didn't understand what the woman meant when she talked about it being a cure, but she now understood Santana's earlier apprehension, and just like Santana, she wasn't sure if she was ready to find out.

**A/N These guys can't catch a break huh? It's always something. But what did Maribel mean? What's really wrong with Blaine? How safe is a safe zone? Hmmm… Reviews are always appreciated :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N So here's the new chapter. Hope you guys like it. We're getting into the Washington Arc finally. Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter.**

Chapter 8

Santana stared at her mother, noting the woman looked as impeccable as always. It had been almost a year since she'd last seen the older woman, and she noticed that besides a few more gray hairs, nothing much had changed about her.

"Santana it's so good to see you. I was worried when I heard you went back to Lima." Maribel said, cautiously reaching out to take her daughter into her arms.

"Well after I understood what was really happening there I had to get back to you and dad." She replied, returning her mother's hug.

"Well thank you for your concern Santana but you need to start leading with your head and not your heart. I've always told you to analyze a situation and choose the wisest course. It was unwise to return to Lima. You could have been killed." She reprimanded.

"Like I thought you were? Like dad was?" she asked with a slight edge to her voice. She hated when her mother talked down to her.

"What happened to your father was….unfortunate, but you have to understand, this wasn't something we anticipated." Her mother answered.

Hearing the lack of emotion in the woman's voice, Santana felt her blood boil. She had basically just confirmed that her husband was dead and yet there was no sadness. No remorse. No grief.

"If I understand correctly mother, you're saying you had something to do with what's happening back home? You had something to do with the deaths of all those people?" Santana accused.

"You're being dramatic Santana. It's not like we set out to kill anyone. Our intentions were good." Her mother said exasperatedly.

"Well you know what they say about the road to hell." She muttered.

"We were trying to cure the mentally challenged. Do you have any idea of the millions we could have helped?" Maribel asked, pleading with her daughter to understand.

"What are you even talking about? What were you trying to do exactly?" she asked the older woman.

"It was an experiment to target the area of the brain responsible for mental illness. I….We figured it had to do with the neurons in that specific area being overactive. Most psychiatric disorders exhibit symptoms of the brain's lack of control over the body. Most of the time the nerves are sending messages too fast for the brain to properly process." She tried to explain, taking note of the confused faces surrounding her. Sighing, she tried another route.

"It's like a game of telephone. Do you kids know what that is?" when she got a few nods she continued, "It's like that. The messages start from one end of the brain, but by the time it gets to its destination, the message has been distorted, sometimes into a completely new message. It affects the way a person walks, talks, even the way the act. If you've been in contact with a mentally disabled person you would know what I'm referring to. Their erratic behavior that sometimes forces us to restrain them."

"I still don't see where you're going with this." Santana interrupted.

"I was getting to that Santana, be patient." Maribel snapped. "Anyway, myself and a few other psychiatrists got together with some top level scientists to create what we call Genesis, it's a Generalized Neuron Stabilizer, which when inserted into the subject, should have worked to not only stabilize the overactive neurons but to repair any damaged cells previously caused by the specific disorder the subject suffered with. But as you can see, the first batch was a complete failure." She finished.

"First batch? You mean you're going to continue with this experiment? Did you completely miss the part where thousands of people have died already? How many test subjects did you have?" Santana asked horrified.

"We only had a few. I volunteered some of my patients from the Lima Psychiatric Hospital as test subjects, and before you ask I used the ones that had been abandoned by their families. There were six in all. At first the serum seemed to have worked. While they were erratic and uncontrollable at first, they completely calmed down. We asked them a few basic questions and they responded coherently and correctly. It was beautiful Santana." She said, getting a bit misty eyed Santana noticed detachedly, silently urging her mother to continue.

"We kept them strapped down for a while, to make sure the serum had time to embed into the brain. Then after an hour or so we felt comfortable enough to release them. We walked with them, talked with them and it was a success. Then one by one they just shut down. They started screaming, bleeding from their eyes, ears, mouths….it was horrifying. After a few minutes they died. They just stopped breathing. We had a few orderlies discard the bodies save two. We figured we would dissect the brains to figure out where we went wrong." Maribel paused, as if collecting her thoughts for what she would reveal next.

"My colleagues and I left the lab to collect our data and to basically rest a bit before starting the process all over again. When we got back, the subjects had somehow reanimated and were attacking the scientists. We could only stare in horror. Then we heard a scream from the outside. The four subjects we sent to be discarded had done the same thing, and the orderlies that were with them, they had changed into the creatures you saw back in Lima. They began attacking the other patients and workers at the hospital. We were evacuated by the military personnel on hand and brought here. Last thing I heard about Lima was that the victims of the attack had gotten out of the hospital and were attacking the citizens." She told those assembled.

"So this originated in Lima?" Quinn asked.

"Yes. I had no idea it would spread so far, so fast. We had no choice but to quarantine the five states." Maribel answered.

"Wait five? I thought it was four." Santana said.

"Pennsylvania was the latest state to be affected. The military weren't vigilant enough and somehow allowed some of the infected to cross over." Maribel said accusingly, looking towards the generals that had joined the group after questioning Sam.

"Now Doctor Lopez we've already apologized for that and the ones responsible have been dealt with. The area has been quarantined and no other incidents have occurred." General Wade said, quite used to the Doctor's temper.

"We need to be more careful. People will start asking questions soon." She cautioned him.

"Hold on. What do you mean ask questions soon? What have you been telling the public?" Santana asked the general.

"Watch your tone soldier!" General Holt intervened.

"It's ok Holt. She has a right to ask." General Wade said before things could get heated. "We've enlisted the CDC and have told the public that it's an aggressive strain of the flu virus and highly contagious, hence the quarantine and lack of correspondence from their friends and loved ones."

"People actually believe that?" Brody asked, shaking his head at the absurdity.

"People believe what they want to believe. It makes no difference to us, as long as they stay away so that we can do our jobs and deal with this situation."General Holt declared, clearly fed up with the questions.

"Yeah because that's been working out great so far." Santana muttered.

"Look, this is none of your concern. We are dealing with the situation. You and your friends just need to cooperate. Blaine Anderson, you're up next." General Holt said, turning to the quiet boy in the corner.

"General, perhaps we can hold off on the other interviews for now?" Dr. Lopez said. "These kids are clearly exhausted and they've literally been through hell. It's already three p.m. How about we show them where they're staying for the time being and pick up where we left off tomorrow?"

The general hesitated at this. He clearly wanted to get everything done and dusted as soon as possible, but decided to yield to the doctor. She was in charge after all.

"Fine. I'll have someone show them to the rooms we've prepared. But tomorrow we finish this." He said as he stalked out of the room, not waiting for a reply.

"I'll show them. We have five rooms prepared. I hope you all don't mind sharing?"Maribel asked, after General Wade had also excused himself.

"Yeah that's fine. We've been sharing everything for the last few months anyway."Rachel answered as evenly as possible, trying to process all the information just given.

Santana walked a distance away from everyone as they discussed living arrangements. She couldn't bear to be around her mother at the moment. The only thing she had gathered from the discussion was that her mother had tried to fuck with nature and nature won. No matter which way they tried to spin what had happened, her mother was a mass murderer. She was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, including her husband, and what was worse, she didn't seem to care. A failed experiment was all she saw.

"Hey. They're about to show us to our rooms."Brittany said, approaching the quiet girl.

Santana simply nodded, knowing if she tried to speak she would either break down crying or yell obscenities in both English and Spanish. How could they not see the big picture? How could they all silently do as they're told? They should all be raging. They'd just been told that the woman in front of them was responsible for the deaths of their friends and families? Did they not understand?

"I hope it's ok but I told them me and Summer wouldn't mind sharing with you." Brittany continued nervously fidgeting a little.

"Oh uh sure. Yeah that's fine." She answered, just as nervously. Now she wished she had been paying attention. Just what kind of living quarters were she and Brittany going to share?

"Are you ok?" Brittany asked quietly as they walked behind the others. "I feel like I've been asking you that all day."

"Can we talk about it later?" she asked, not wanting the others to overhear.

"Yeah, sure. Your mom is quite interesting." She said, making idle conversation.

"Interesting is one way to put it."

"Ok everyone; these are the rooms we've prepared for you. Just grab your keys and rest up. We'll send someone to escort you when it's time for dinner." Maribel said, handing out the keys.

"Mrs. Lopez do you know any doctor's office nearby? Is it ok if I take Blaine to see one? He hasn't been feeling well for a while." Kurt asked quietly.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked suspiciously staring at the other boy.

"It seems to be some sort of flu or something." Kurt answered.

"Are you sure? He wasn't bitten or anything was he?" she asked, still looking at the boy.

"Oh no not at all. He would have said something if he was I promise."

"Well if you're sure. I know several doctors. I'll give you the name and directions to one. You'll have to leave now though, it's almost closing time. I'll call and tell him to expect you soon." She said reluctantly.

"Thank you so much."Kurt smiled, relieved that Blaine was going to get looked at. He was getting progressively worse and Kurt was beginning to panic a little.

"Alright I'll leave you all to it. Just dial extension fifty two on the phones if you need to get to me or anyone else, they'll redirect you. Kurt I'll get that information to you in a few minutes." She said.

Santana watched as the woman turned towards her, but quickly looked away. She really needed to get away from her right now. The feelings brewing inside her were begging to be released and she just wasn't ready for the confrontation she wanted to have.

She heard the older woman sigh before walking away from the group. Well versed in her daughter's moods, she knew not to push her. Santana was always so complicated.

"Well that wasn't awkward or anything." Mercedes said, trying to break the tension.

"So that was your mom huh? She's a real piece of work." Said Quinn, still staring after the woman's retreating figure.

"Yep." Was all Santana said, knowing Quinn understood the situation the same way she did. "Let's go inside, I'm tired." she said to Brittany

"Ok. We'll meet up with you guys for dinner later." Brittany addressed the others before going into the room with Santana and Summer.

When they entered the room Summer squealed and ran towards the nearest of the two beds, jumping on it excitedly. Santana knew it had been a while since the little girl saw a real bed, and smiled at the uninhibited joy she saw on the girl's face. Looking over at Brittany she saw the older girl biting her lip while staring at her sister. Knowing Brittany was trying to be the mature older sister, Santana figured she would give her a nudge in the right direction.

Placing her duffle bag on the floor she ran over to the bed and joined Summer in jumping up and down. The little girl squealed when Santana joined her, the two of them holding hands and jumping as high as they could. Brittany laughed at their childish display before trying to rein them in.

"You two are absolutely ridiculous. Stop jumping on the bed, I'm sure the others can hear you." She said mock sternly, pointing a finger at both of them.

"Why don't you make us?" Santana teased still jumping just out of the other girls reach.

"Yeah makes us Brit" Summer giggled at her sister, knowing the older girl wasn't serious.

"Oh you two are going to get it." She said, grabbing for the nearest one.

"Ha. You missed." Summer said, hiding behind Santana.

Before Brittany could lunge again, she felt a pillow land squarely in her face. Looking at the two on the bed she saw them both with cheeky smiles, Summer trying her best not to laugh out loud.

"Oh you two are in trouble now." She said before grabbing the pillows from the other bed and launching herself towards the mischief makers.

For the next five minutes the three occupants of the room engaged in a pillow fight they were sure would go down in history. But eventually a truce was called and all three collapsed on bed, trying to catch their breath.

"You two are silly." Summer said to them, still giggling from the excitement.

About an hour later, when they had all freshened up, Brittany thanking all the gods for hot water finally, Summer fell asleep while watching TV on the flat screen in the room. Besides the two beds, there was a bathroom and a small kitchen area that had a small table with four chairs around it. Nothing too big but it was more than Brittany and Summer had in a long time.

Santana sat with her back against the wall, not too concerned over the amenities they'd been granted, considering she was in New York most of the time and not trapped in Lima with the others. She smiled slightly when Brittany sat next to her on the floor, no doubt wanting to have that conversation Santana had put off earlier.

"Hey, you ready to talk?" she asked Santana, hoping the girl would confide in her.

"I'm just so angry. Did you hear what she said Brit? She basically confessed to being responsible for what's happening. She's responsible for what happened to your parents." Santana finished quietly.

After a long moment of silence, Brittany finally spoke.

"I heard her. I didn't understand all of it but I got the gist of it. I was angry at first. We all were actually. I could tell Puck was close to punching something. I don't know what the others are thinking now, but I'm trying to understand." She said.

"Understand? Understand what exactly? That she was trying to play god? That she was so concerned with seeing her name in lights that she basically condemned us all to hell?" Santana asked angrily.

"You're thinking on a personal level Santana. She's your mom so you feel responsible for what she's done." The blonde said, placing a calming hand over Santana's clenched fist.

"How else am I supposed to think? You're supposed to take it personally as well Brittany."

"And I do. But I can understand what she was trying to do, and as someone who has seen the effects of mental illness up close I can appreciate what she tried to do." Brittany revealed.

Santana stared at the other girl, noticing the change in her tone. Relaxing her hand enough to join their fingers, Santana waited for her to continue.

"When I was about eight, I had an uncle. His name was Robert and he was my mom's brother. He was my favorite uncle because he always took me to the best places like the circus and the amusement park, and he bought me the nicest gifts. He used to visit us every weekend and had the most amazing stories to tell. Those were some of my best memories." She said smiling at the far away memory.

"Then one day he didn't show up. I figured maybe he was busy or he forgot or something, but he didn't show up for a whole month. When I finally got worried enough to ask my mom she explained that he was sick. It was only a few years later, when I was old enough to understand, that she explained he had Bi Polar Disorder and had refused to take his meds so they had to institutionalize him."

"When I asked her if I could visit she refused at first because she didn't want me to see him like that. But I begged and begged until she gave in and took me. The man I saw that day wasn't my amazing uncle that was so full of life. He was this lifeless shell, just staring off into space. He barely recognized me. When I asked my mom later, she said that the happy go lucky man I remembered never existed. It was a product of the illness. I never went to visit him again. He died a few months after. Suicide apparently. That was my first and only encounter with mental illness, and I never wanted to go through it again. I can't imagine what it's like to be trapped in your own mind. So yeah, I understand what she was trying to do. I'm not trying to downplay it or excuse it but I understand." She finished softly.

"Brittany I'm so sorry you went through that. It sounds like an awful experience." Santana squeezed the hand in hers. "You know, even though my mother is a psychiatrist I've never really had contact with someone like your uncle. And maybe that's why it's easy for me to judge her harshly, but Brit I'm looking at the overall picture. So many have suffered and died because of what they did. What she did. And she doesn't exactly look remorseful."

"Yeah that did throw me a bit. But I guess people process things differently. I just hope they can fix what they did so no one else has to go through what we did." She said.

"I don't think I've ever met someone as understanding as you. You should be raging but here you are, looking at the situation from every angle. You're pretty amazing." Santana told her softly, turning more towards the other girl.

This action wasn't lost on Brittany, who also leaned closer. The two stared at each other, taking each other in. Santana for her part had never met anyone like Brittany. It was hard to believe someone as brave and caring and sweet could exist in a world like this, hell that she could exist in the world before all this went down.

"Do you believe that good things can come from horrible situations? Brittany suddenly asked.

"I don't know. I honestly never thought about it. I doubt it."

"Well I do. I think that despite everything that's happened, something beautiful can come out of it"

"I don't see how. You know what we've been through. I don't see anything good coming from this situation." She said hesitantly.

"But that's where I disagree. Something beautiful already came from it." She said, inching closer to the brunette.

"What?" Santana whispered, eyes flickering to the blonde's lips.

"You." Brittany said before bringing their lips together.

Santana felt her heart stop for a moment before reigniting. She'd kissed many women before. Some were good and some even amazing. But this? This was fire. This was the start of an addiction. Brittany's lips were soft on hers. So soft. She felt like she'd finally found the answer to a question she didn't know she'd asked.

Leaving her hand intertwined with Brittany's, she brought her other hand up to cup the girl's cheek. Everything about her was soft, so perfectly crafted. Santana forgot about the world. She forgot about where they were, why they were there. She forgot everything and lost herself in this beautiful, amazing girl.

* * *

Kurt tried his best to quell the rising panic inside him. After Dr. Lopez had given them the name of her friend, they had immediately set out to find him. He had briefly considered asking to borrow a vehicle to get there quicker, or even for a ride from someone, but had stopped himself. He hadn't missed the scornful looks the soldiers sent his and Blaine's way as they held hands on their way out. He could do without the homophobia thank you very much.

Now he was almost regretting that decision. It was clear Blaine was having trouble keeping up with his urgent pace. The other boy looked about ready to collapse. Kurt slowed down and pulled Blaine off to the side. Avoiding the other pedestrians on the street he turned to the other boy.

"Do you think you can make it just five more blocks? If you want I can run there and bring the doctor to you, or even call an ambulance if you'd prefer." Kurt said desperately.

"No Kurt. It doesn't make any sense. I see that now." Blaine said breathlessly, leaning against a post for support.

"What do you mean? You're sick! Of course it makes sense to get you help." Kurt said, not liking the defeat in his boyfriend's voice.

"I'm not sick Kurt." Blaine said, finally connecting their eyes. "I'm dying."

"What?" Kurt said, backing away slightly. He shook his head at the other boy, willing him to stop this nonsense.

"What are you even talking about? Just stop it Blaine. Come on let's go." He said, grabbing for the other boy's arm. But Blaine pulled out of his reach.

"You should leave. Go back to the base. You have to get away from me." He replied sadly.

"Get away from you? What the hell are you talking about? This isn't funny!" He screamed, not caring about the looks they were attracting.

"Kurt listen to me!" Blaine cut him off, voice rising to meet his. "Back when I was trying to get back to the bus, before coach Sylvester got to them, I was bitten." He revealed.

"W..what? Bitten? But….no. No you weren't. You weren't bleeding or anything." Kurt said in denial, shaking his head.

"It wasn't deep. I covered it up. The beauty of wearing red pants huh?" He said, trying to joke.

"This isn't fucking funny Blaine! Why didn't you say anything?" Kurt said angrily.

"I thought that since it wasn't deep that nothing would happen, that I would be ok. But I was wrong. I can feel it happening already." He said fearfully, "That's why you have to leave. You can't be around me anymore."

"I love you. I can't just leave you. What would you do? Blaine, what about all these people?" He said looking around at all the pedestrians going about their business.

"I don't know. I'm so sorry." He answered, launching into a coughing fit.

"We have to get you back to Dr. Lopez. Maybe they have something to help." Kurt said, pulling at the other boy from where he was hunched over. He let out a gasp when Blaine looked at him. Sometime during this last coughing fit, he had managed to cough up blood.

"Blaine, you're bleeding." Kurt whispered fearfully.

"It's happened before. Kurt you have to leave now. Please. I don't think I have much time." Blaine said, walking a few steps away from his boyfriend. He didn't get very far before his body suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, rushing to the fallen boy.

By now a few people had seen what happened and were surrounding the two young men. Kurt heard someone yelling for help, and others were on their phones with 911. He could do nothing but stare at the other boy, willing this to be a nightmare. Wishing he would wake up curled with him in the mall they had left in Lima.

"Kurt. I'm so sorry. I…I love you so much. Please forgive me." Blaine struggled to tell him, barely breathing through the blood clogging his throat.

"I love you too. Blaine please fight this. You're strong. Don't leave me." Kurt sobbed brokenly.

Blaine didn't respond. As Kurt saw him muster a small smile, he could only cry, watching as his boyfriend slipped away.

"Hey kid, the emergency services are on their way." A man said, resting his hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"It's too late. They can't help." Kurt said numbly.

"What do you mean? Hey you can't give up. Come on let's help him." The man said, beginning to administer CPR.

"You should all leave. Get out of here before it happens." He continued in a monotone voice, staring at Blaine's lifeless body.

"Before what happens? You're not making any sense kid. Come on help me!" he all but yelled.

"Leave now. You have to leave." Kurt repeated, willing the people around to listen to him.

"You're crazy. We have to try to save him. Isn't he your friend?" the man asked.

"Hey look he moved!" A woman nearby exclaimed.

"See kid? It worked. We can help him." The man said, snapping Kurt out of his trance.

"No. No it's too late. You have to run." Kurt urged, pleading with the bystanders to leave.

"Hey if I didn't know any better I would think you didn't want to save him. He moved. We just have to keep him awake until the EMS get here. Now help m…" Before the man could finish, the fully awakened Blaine lunged for his neck, ripping his throat out in plain view of everyone.

Kurt vaguely heard the pandemonium begin, the screams of the onlookers distant in his ears as he watched frozen as his boyfriend fed on the man. Hearing the screams, he watched as Blaine abandoned the body of his first victim before lunging at the nearest person, a woman who had been in the process of running away, feasting on her as well.

When the body of the first man began to twitch, Kurt mobilized. Turning in the direction of the base, he could do nothing but run back there to warn the others. He had no weapons; he couldn't stop what was happening by himself. Glancing back one last time, he watched the man join Blaine, both going after their prey. Holding back a sob, he ran as fast as he could, hoping he could stop it before it got too out of control.

* * *

Santana moaned as Brittany trailed kisses down her neck. Not for the first time in the last hour she wondered just how she had ended up straddling the other girl. Not that she was complaining. Brittany's lap was her new favorite place.

Pulling away from the attentive blonde, she discarded her tank top, watching in amusement as Brittany's eyes widened at the sight of her twins. She knew they were magnificent, and despite what others speculated they were one hundred percent real. Allowing Brittany just a few more precious seconds of the view, she pulled the blonde's face back to hers and reattached their lips. She heard the girl moan and smiled into the kiss, loving that she wasn't the only one who felt the intensity. If they had a choice, she would choose to stay like this forever, just them, wrapped in each other's arms.

Brittany was about to discard her top as well, thoroughly anticipating the feel of Santana's skin against hers, when they heard the sirens go off.

"Are we destined to be interrupted by sirens every time?" Brittany asked, an edge of frustration lacing her tone.

"That's the emergency signal." Santana said, used to the different military alarms.

"Should we go see what's happening or stay here?" Brittany asked worriedly, watching as Santana climbed off of her and shrug back into her top.

"We should go check."

By now the alarm had awoken Summer, who crawled off the bed towards her sister. Grabbing her hand, the two girls followed behind Santana who was already at the door.

Outside they were met with the sight of the others congregating in the hallway. Santana's eyes found Mike's and he gave a brief shrug, indicating he had no idea what was going on.

"Let's go to the entrance. There has to be someone there that knows what's happening." Quinn suggested.

As they all made their way out, they saw various military personnel of all ages gearing up. It wasn't until many were passing them with bags full of supplies and computers that they got worried. It almost looked like an evacuation.

"Santana!" they heard Dr. Lopez yell, getting her daughter's attention.

"Mom what's going on? Where's everyone going?" she asked trying not to show her worry.

"We're moving to another base in New York." She replied, looking at the faces in front of her. "Something's happened. Washington has been compromised." She revealed.

"Compromised? What do you mean? What happened?" Santana demanded.

"Blaine turned." They heard Kurt's voice say, the boy suddenly appearing behind Maribel.

"What? Kurt what are you talking about?" Rachel asked, running to her distressed friend.

Kurt proceeded to tell them what had happened. Santana noted the shocked faces around her. Somehow she wasn't as surprised by the revelation. She knew something was wrong with the boy. She mentally kicked herself for not prodding deeper, too busy worrying about her mother to worry about anyone else. And now Blaine was gone, and people were being infected at this very moment.

"Can we do anything? Can't we try to stop it from spreading?" Brody asked.

"That would be almost impossible. He had already attacked people before Kurt got here, in fact someone was turned in less than ten minutes of him being infected. That was over half hour ago. Who knows how many more infected there are now. We wouldn't know where to even begin to look. You can be sure that they don't stay in one place." Dr. Lopez said.

"But it can't be that much. We can go to wherever Blaine was and hunt them down." Mike suggested.

"One infected person can bring down an entire state in the space of one to two hours. We have to leave before it knocks at our door." Maribel said urgently.

"Dr. Lopez a word." General Holt said, standing a distance away from the group.

They watched as the two conversed quietly, occasionally glancing at them. Whatever the General was saying seemed to not sit well with the doctor because she vigorously shook her head. After a few more words from the General, they watched the woman reluctantly nod and walk back to them.

"There's a waiting area just out front where others are gathered. If you kids go there and wait, someone will be by to take you to one of the helicopters." She told them, looking away from the fearful faces in front of her.

Santana noted her mother's tone and body language and figured she knew what was happening. Not wanting to alarm the group she asked her mother for a private word. Maribel reluctantly followed her daughter away from everyone.

"You're abandoning us aren't you?" Santana went straight to the point.

"Abandon is a strong word Santana. There are very few helicopters right now and the doctors and their staff are priority. We are going to send them back though, I promise." Maribel said, willing her daughter to believe her.

"You just said it takes one or two hours to bring down a state. We're already almost an hour in. They'll get to us before you get back." Santana accused. When her mother remained silent she scoffed, "So you're just going to abandon innocent people to die from the mess you caused? You're unbelievable you know that?"

"Come with me." The woman interrupted, "I can get you on the helicopter with me. Just grab your things and let's go." She urged.

"Are you serious right now? You want me to abandon my friends here with those things?" Santana asked incredulously.

"Friends? Oh please Santana you just met more than half of them, and the other four are your colleagues." She corrected.

"No, they're my friends and I'm not going to leave them to fend for themselves."

"So you'll die with them?" her mother asked.

"If it comes to that." She answered looking right into the woman's eyes.

"You are so foolish. You've always been a stubborn foolish child. I shouldn't have allowed you to spend so much time with your grandmother. This is her influence." Maribel accused.

"She was the best woman I knew. Maybe you should have learned a bit more from her. You were the disappointment to her that I am to you." Santana responded.

"So you're really not coming?" she heard her mother ask as she began walking away.

"No. But you can do something for me. Just one decent thing." She said stopping to look over her shoulder.

"What's that?"

"Take Summer and Stevie with you. They're just little kids. They won't survive for long out there."

"I can do that." She said after a brief moment of hesitation. "What will you do?"

"You said you're going to New York right? So we'll meet you there."

Walking back to the waiting group, Santana went straight to Brittany. Not wanting to lie to the girl she told her point blank what was going on. She knew Brittany was strong enough to handle it, especially when she told her Summer would be going with her mother. She saw the sadness and distrust when she mentioned the last part, but Brittany was practical enough to know that Summer would be better off going with her mother. Leaving Brittany to explain to her sister, Santana walked over to Sam.

She gave him the same courtesy she gave Brittany by telling him what was going on and the arrangement she'd made for Stevie. Sam wasn't as open to the idea as she'd hoped though.

"So I should just give my brother to the woman that's responsible for all this?" he asked angrily, something in his eyes Santana hadn't seen before.

"You would rather him stay here and become easy prey for those things out there?" she asked quietly.

"Maybe we're better off with the zombies than with her. She's the real monster here." Sam said undeterred.

"I understand you're upset. I am too. But you have to think of the best thing for your brother. Can you bear to lose him the same way you lost the rest of your family? Can you bear to watch him be eaten by those things? She asked lowly.

"Fine." He said after thinking it over for a few minutes. "But if and when we get to New York you better hope he's ok." He threatened as he turned to go to his brother.

Santana watched as Summer hugged Brittany tightly, obvious tears streaming down both their cheeks at the thought of being separated for who knows how long. She knew that since this began they were always together, so she could only imagine what they were going through. She watched as they walked towards her, Summer looking small and scared clutching her sister's hand.

"Hey Summer. Do you trust me?" She asked, bending to the little girl's level.

When all she got was a tiny nod from the girl, she held out her pinky.

"I promise you I'll do my best to get your sister back to you ok?" she said.

"Santana don't..." Brittany tried to caution but Santana held up a hand to stop her.

"I intend to keep that promise ok? I'll protect her with my life." She continued speaking to the little girl.

When Summer hooked her smaller pinky with hers, Santana gave her a reassuring smile. Summer launched herself into Santana's arms holding on to the older girl as hard as possible.

"You'll come back too right?" she asked, her voice muffled in Santana's neck.

"You know it kid. I'll hand deliver her to you." She said after pulling back a little and winked, earning a little smile from the girl.

"Santana I have to leave." Came her mother's hesitant voice.

"Right." She said, leading Brittany and Sam over to the older woman.

"Guys this is my mom. She'll take care of you until we get to New York ok?" Santana said as both kids nodded and went to Maribel after hugging their siblings once more.

Santana watched as the woman ushered both kids to where her escorts were waiting, glancing back only once to search out her daughter, before disappearing.

"So now what?" Quinn asked, coming to stand beside her.

"Now we get the hell out of here."

**A/N: Some Brittana :D! Also I'm a novice when it comes to mental disorders, only ever having experience with Bi Polar Disorder, so anything that didn't make sense from Maribel's explanation we can attribute to fiction. Next up, the gang takes on apocalyptic Washington! Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you feel like it :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So sorry this took a bit longer to upload. I've seen sick this past week and while not 100% better I had to get something out to you guys. Thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. :D**

Chapter 9

Brittany listened intently to the instructions Santana was giving everyone. She honestly never expected to be in such a situation again so soon after escaping Lima. Saying goodbye to Summer, especially not knowing whether she would see her again, was the one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do.

"Mike and I will go to the armory to collect whatever weapons were left behind, then we hit the road before it gets too late." She heard Santana say. "Quinn and Brody will find some sort of transportation for us. Hopefully there's something with keys and gas inside."

"What are the rest of us supposed to do?" Rachel asked.

"Look around quickly to see what supplies you can gather. Look for the kitchen especially, food and water are priority. We meet back here in ten minutes. No later." Santana said.

"Santana." Brittany called to the retreating girl. "I'll go back to the room and grab your duffle and some of the clothes they left for us."

"Yeah that's a good idea. Thanks Brit." She smiled, before turning to walk away with Mike.

"Can you believe this is happening again?" Mercedes asked.

"I'm so sorry guys. I feel like this is my fault. I knew something was wrong with Blaine but I didn't imagine it would be this. That he was bitten." Kurt said with tears glistening in his eyes.

"Kurt stop it. This isn't on you. Blaine should have told us the second it happened. He was our friend and I know this might sound harsh right now but he was selfish. Now people are out there dying because of him." Rachel said to him.

"Guys we don't have time for this right now. Let's just do what Santana said and meet back here in ten. We have to get out of here before we're trapped." Brittany urged, not really wanting to linger.

"Would that be so bad though? They said they were coming back for us. Can't we lock ourselves in here and wait?" Mercedes asked.

Brittany bit her lip as she thought of what Santana told her. There was a very high chance that no one was coming back for them. They were basically left there to die, with computers and equipment given precedence over them. Sacrificed in the name of science. She couldn't tell them that.

"It's not safe here. The zombies can easily get in through a hole in the fence. That's what Santana told me anyway." Surprisingly it was Sam who spoke up.

"Oh my God. Well what are we waiting for guys let's move." Rachel said, already running down the hall.

Brittany sighed in relief as the group dispersed, glad she didn't have to think up a lie as to why they couldn't stay. As she entered the room she shared with Summer and Santana, she briefly thought about what happened between her and Santana.

Brittany had kissed many people in her young life, but none as skilled and as beautiful as Santana. Thinking about it sent tingles down her spine. She had even forgotten her little sister was right there in the room with them, having every intention of going as far as Santana would allow her to.

Shaking the thought from her mind she focused on her task. Grabbing Santana's duffle that she thankfully had yet to unpack; Brittany hastily grabbled a few articles of clothing for them, mostly jeans and shirts, and stuffed them into her own bag. Pausing to look around the room one last time, the room that had given them a taste of humanity after so long, she hoisted both bags and left.

Getting back to the lobby entrance with a few minutes to spare, she looked at the others who had made it back. She watched as Puck and Mercedes double checked the canned food they had found, not taking too much that would load them down, but enough to last at least a few days.

Slowly the others made it back, all with bags, some containing more food, and others she saw had clothes in them, obviously thinking along the same lines she did.

"Did you guys find anything?" Quinn asked, as she joined them.

"Yeah we got lots of canned food, and we got clothes as well. Hopefully we'll be able to get to New York before we run out." Rachel answered.

"Yeah that's good. Brody and I found a carrier bus. It should hold all of us just fine. When Mike and Santana get back we're out of here."

"We're here." Came Santana's voice. Brittany glanced over and saw that the other girl looked a bit put out.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Those bastards took most of the weapons. There's only like five guns left. And they're all handguns. No rifles, no grenades, no shot guns. Just pistols." She said angrily.

"That won't be enough. There's like ten of us. We should each have at least one weapon."Quinn said.

"I know. It'll have to do for now. Let's get out of here." Santana said.

As the group filed outside towards the bus Quinn and Brody had managed to get, they saw Brody arguing with a soldier. Getting closer, Brittany managed to make out the source of the hostility.

"What's going on? Santana asked, going to stand next to Brody.

"The lieutenant here doesn't want us to leave. Wants us to stay here and be sitting ducks with them." He answered.

"They're coming back for us. Major Bernard said so. I can't allow you to go rogue and take military equipment." The other man answered.

"Then it's a good thing we're not asking for your permission. You can stay here and be zombie bait as much as you like, but me and my friends are leaving. Step aside." Santana said to him, moving to go pass him.

"Stop right there. I'm not going to allow that." The soldier persisted, reaching out to grab Santana.

Brittany almost missed what happened next. One minute the man was grabbing for Santana, and the next minute he was on the floor, arm twisted behind his back, held there by Santana.

"Like I said before, I'm not asking your permission." She said calmly to the squirming man.

There was the sound of a click and Brittany quickly glanced over to see Mike aiming one of the guns they had found towards a few other soldiers, no doubt they were coming to the aid of their friend still held firmly in Santana's grip.

"All of you get on the bus." Quinn said, pointing to a steel blue bus just a few meters away.

The group did as they were told, not wanting to incur the wrath of the people trying to save their lives again. Brittany for her part couldn't help but be impressed by Santana. The girl was just full of surprises. That soldier had to be at least a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier and yet she'd subdued him as calmly as she would a child. No wonder Mike had urged her not to be deceived by Santana's size.

"Anyone else want to join us? There's space on the bus for more." Brody addressed the onlookers.

Most of them were soldiers Brittany noted, but they looked to be the youngest, maybe new recruits. It wasn't surprising that they were the ones left behind. The weakest links were always discarded.

"Our orders were to stay here and wait for the helicopters to come back and that's what we're going to do….sir." One of them answered, his voice slightly wavering under Brody's intense stare.

"You know as well as we do that's not going to happen." He said to the boy.

"We have our orders." The young soldier answered after a brief moment of hesitation.

"Let's go Brody. It's pointless." Santana said, urging him towards the bus.

Brittany felt her heart break for them. She also felt a surge of anger towards the people whom these boys were blindly putting their trust in. Those people whose job it was 'to serve and protect'. Shaking her head, she made her way to the back of the bus with Santana close behind.

The two sat quietly and waited for Brody to drive them off the compound. The trip to New York from Washington should take them three to four hours under normal circumstances, but these weren't normal. They would have to be on alert for zombies.

Brittany found herself blindly hoping they didn't encounter any. She knew it was wishful thinking but she'd promised herself that she would be more positive. After all, she would have never predicted meeting Santana and her friends and yet here they were.

"Hey what are you thinking about?" Santana asked softly.

"I'm just hoping we can get out of here without any trouble. I don't want to run into any of those things. It's silly I know." She confided.

"It's not silly. There's nothing wrong with wanting the best outcome. Hell I want that too. We just have to be on guard that's all." She said, reaching over to take the blonde's hand.

Brittany smiled and squeezed the hand in hers. She really was glad for Santana's support. She glanced out of the window, looking for signs of trouble as Brody steered them towards the highway.

"What if we see Blaine?" she heard Kurt ask Rachel from the seat in front of her.

"I doubt we will Kurt. And even if we do I overheard Quinn say we'll do our best to not stop, so we won't have to confront him." Rachel assured him.

Just then they heard Brody call out from up front about stopping to siphon gas from any abandoned cars or a gas station nearby. This didn't seem to sit well with Santana by the way she suddenly tensed.

"What the fuck Quinn? You guys got something without gas?" Santana asked.

"It was the only one with the keys in it that could fit all of us. We figured we'd be better off together than in separate vehicles." She admitted.

"Dammit. Just drive as far as you can Brody. We'll only stop when we absolutely have to. The further away we get the better." Santana said.

"Roger that." He said.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus." Kurt exclaimed when they made it to the highway.

Chaos. That's the only word Brittany could think of to describe what she was seeing. The highway was packed with people trying to get out of Washington. Some in their vehicles, others on bikes, but the majority on foot.

"You have got to be kidding me. How the hell am I supposed to get through that?" Brody yelled in frustration.

"Just take it slow. There's space in between the cars. Just maneuver as best you can." Mike instructed as Navigator, having scoped out the scenery.

As the bus slowly made its way through the panicking crowd, the ones that were on foot started banging on the sides of the bus. Brittany had to admit that she was a bit freaked out. She saw the pleas in their eyes to be let in, their desperation to be saved. But she knew what would happen if they opened the doors. They would all try to get on, and that would not only endanger themselves but the bus would most likely crash and then they would all be stranded if not killed and with night fast approaching.

Looking away from the tearful eyes of a woman who, if Brittany looked long enough would resemble her mother, she felt the bus speed up a bit. She squeezed Santana's hand tighter praying Brody didn't hit anyone.

The sudden screams from outside alerted the group to something happening. Santana stood and looked out the back window to see if she could see what the commotion was.

"Fuck! We have company." She said, pointing outside.

The group gathered to the back to see what Santana meant. Brittany's not sure what she was expecting to see, but the dozens and dozens of zombies that were slowly but surely gaining on the fleeing crowd was not it. A few sure. But the swarm that kept getting bigger and bigger, no doubt alerted by the screams and the blaring horns of vehicles? Definitely not.

"Brody you have to find a way to move faster. There's no way we can take them on!" Quinn yelled.

"I can't go any faster, there are people in front of me!" he exclaimed.

"Take the next exit, we have to get off the highway." Santana instructed, still watching what was happening outside.

"But where will we go? I thought we were getting out of here." Puck spoke up.

"There's too much confusion. We'll only get caught up in it. Let's find somewhere to camp for the night. We'll use the light to our advantage first thing tomorrow." Santana answered.

"No way. That's a horrible idea. The longer we stay here the more chance we have of getting caught. Do you know how many people are in Washington?" Puck asked.

"Enough that if we get caught on the road at night we'll be screwed. What part of five guns didn't you understand?" she asked exasperatedly.

"We don't have to fight. We can just keep driving." Puck said pointedly.

Brittany gasped. She knew what Puck was hinting at and she was disgusted. She knew the boy could be an ass most times, but she'd always given him credit for being a decent human being when it counted. She barely felt when Santana brushed by her, too intent on staring Puck down.

"Are you implying that we should just run all those innocent people over? Murder them in cold blood?" Santana asked softly, walking up to the boy with deliberate steps.

"I'm saying look behind you. They're dead anyway. There's no reason why we should be too." He said nervously, looking around at his friends for support.

"Brody, take the next exit." Santana said still staring at Puck. "You sit down and shut the fuck up. You have no opinion from now on." She said to the nervous boy.

"You can't just decide for everyone. You're not the boss of us. I say we take a vote." He said looking around at everyone else. Surely his friends would back him up against these people they'd barely even known a week.

"Puck you know you're wrong." Rachel said shaking her head.

"Yeah you're talking about killing innocent people to save your own skin. That's the mark of a coward and I ain't no coward." Mercedes snapped.

"Dude you know that's wrong." Sam said quietly.

"Still want to take a vote?" Mike asked.

"Actually I do want to take a vote. I vote that Santana be our official leader while we try to get out of here." Said Quinn from her spot next to Mike.

"Seconded!" They heard Brody yell from the front.

"All those in favor?" Quinn continued.

Brittany didn't think twice before her hand was the first to shoot up. She trusted Santana with her life and would follow her lead anyway, so might as well make it official.

"Hold up. I don't recall volunteering for this." Santana protested.

"Well I don't know about the others but back in Lima I was following your lead." Mercedes informed.

"Yeah me too. You seem to know what you're doing." Rachel chimed in.

"Looks like majority rules." Mike said, noting Puck and Sam as the only ones opposed.

Before anything more could be said the sound of piercing screams interrupted. The group hurriedly looked out the window to see that the zombies had started to overwhelm the walking crowd, some even attacking those in the nearest cars.

"Brody get off the highway! We're running out of time." Santana said urgently.

"I'm on it." He answered before making the sharp left that would keep them in Washington.

"Where are we gonna go?" Mercedes asked, looking away from the carnage taking place.

"We'll find somewhere. I'd be willing to bet there are a lot of abandoned buildings nearby." Quinn answered.

"I know where we are. My dads and I came here on holiday once and we went to the National Museum of American History. It's about five minutes from here." Rachel said.

"A Museum? Is that such a good idea?" Kurt spoke up.

"Actually it could work. We can stay on the top level. What do you think Santana?" Quinn asked.

"That's a popular spot. I don't know. There could be a lot of them in there." She responded.

"We can go around them. You know, get the upper hand. They're directionless. If we make a run for it we can get to the top floor, which I happen to know was closed for renovations these last few weeks so I doubt there'll be much up there." Quinn informed her.

"Guys I need to know what we're doing." Brody called.

"The museum. Head there and we'll figure it out. Let's see if we can come up with a plan B just in case alright guys?" Santana suggested.

As the group made their way to the museum, Brittany couldn't help but sense déjà vu. She thought of the first time this all started and of when they drove to the mall in Lima. The situation was the same yet so different. Now they were wiser. Looking at her friends she saw the old fear but she also saw the new strength. They weren't going to be trapped in a museum for six months. This time they would fight for their lives.

"Here we are guys." Brody said, pulling all the way up to the front doors of the museum.

The group cautiously made their way out of the bus. Quinn distributed the five guns to Santana, Brittany, Brody, Mike and herself, considering they were the best shots in the group.

"Wait why do you all get one? One of us should have one as well as Brittany." Puck protested.

"I gave the guns to the ones with the best shot. You may be good at bashing heads open but I saw you with those guns back in Lima and you're a lousy shot. Now shut up and stay behind us." Quinn growled, getting fed up of the boys cocky attitude.

"Whatever." He grumbled.

"There is no us and you. We're one group now. There's no distinction. You better get used to it." Santana spoke up, glaring at the boy.

"She's right Puck. We have to start working together as a team if we want to make it out of here." Brittany said.

"Oh like you would disagree with anything she says." Puck scoffed at the blonde.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Guys we do not have time for this. Let's get inside before it's too dark to see where we're going." Mike interrupted.

The group made their way into the lobby on high alert. Rachel was the only one who really knew the museum, so she directed them to the best of her knowledge. Before they could clear the first floor, the sudden groaning near one of the auto-mobile displays grabbed their attention.

Brittany was all too familiar with the sound and aimed her gun towards the source. They watched as a woman slowly crawled her way towards them. Upon close inspection, the group could see her entire right leg had been devoured. Nothing but mangled flesh and bones greeted them as she continued crawling towards them, teeth snapping in anticipation for the taste of flesh.

"Leave her. Let's just keep going." Santana said.

"Are you kidding? We have to get rid of it before it has a chance to come after us!" Sam protested.

"She can't even stand up. None of our weapons have silencers on them. The shot would alert every one of them lurking in here to where we are. The smart thing to do is to leave it here and find safety. That's priority." Santana told him.

"She's right. I don't want to stick around here. Let's just go." Mercedes said.

As the others began to make their way to the second floor, they heard the sound strangled screaming. Looking back they saw Puck had somehow gotten a hold of a walking stick, probably abandoned by some helpless person, and was beating on the head of the zombie. The end of the stick was obviously not sharp because as much as he beat it, the creature wouldn't die.

They all watched in horror as it grabbed out for the boy's leg despite the blows and was trying it's best to sink its teeth into the flesh. Sam rushed to his friend's aid, pulling at him to abandon the creature before he was bitten. The scuffle seemed to have alerted others nearby, because slowly, from different ends of the area, several zombies were headed towards them.

Brittany looked at the others. Quinn and Mike already had their guns raised and ready, preparing to shoot when given the order. Santana however was glaring at the two boys looking more pissed than Brittany had ever seen her.

"Don't fire. Just follow Rachel and head to the second floor." She told them.

Brittany and the others did as they were told. When Santana didn't move to follow she stopped and waited to see what her next move would be. There was no way she would leave Santana to handle this on her own.

"Brittany go." Santana said.

"Not without you." She answered stubbornly.

She saw Santana shake her head and counted it as a victory. From now on they were a team whether the other girl liked it or not Brittany decided.

She watched as Santana marched over to where Puck and Sam were still struggling and put a bullet through the zombies head. The echo of the shot ricocheted off the walls and Brittany had no doubt they were in trouble if they didn't move now.

As Sam and puck made their way towards her, Santana bringing up the rear, the four hurriedly went towards the direction Rachel took the others, paying no attention to the few zombies hobbling after them.

When they reached the second floor they saw the others waiting for them. Mike was at the door entrance, gun at the ready just in case they had any problems. Quinn and Brody assured them that the area was surprisingly clear and they decided to bunk there for the night.

No one said a word as the final four of the group went inside, waiting to see who would explode first. They all knew what Puck did was stupid. Hell even Puck knew what he did was stupid. No one was more surprised than Brittany when Santana simply ignored everyone and sat alone in a corner. They expected the girl to explode, to lash out at the boy with her vicious words, but somehow this silence spoke volumes.

Looking at Puck Brittany saw that he seemed a bit disappointed. It was almost as if he was prepared and ready for the confrontation. Everyone seemed at a loss of what to do. After the silence had become unbearable, Brody instructed them to eat some of what they brought and get a good nights rest because they were leaving first thing in the morning.

The group followed the instructions, too tired to really do anything else. Brittany quietly made her way over to Santana, trying not to startle the other girl. She sat down next to her and waited patiently for her presence to be acknowledged. When Santana finally raised her head from her knees a few minutes later, Brittany noticed the anger still in her eyes.

"I'm going to kill that idiot. I know I will. Was he always such a douche?" She asked the blonde.

"Back in McKinley he was top dog. The popular jock all the girls were in love with. He ruled the school. So I guess it's hard for him to adjust to not being in charge." She answered.

"Well he has to adjust. We all have to or we won't survive." She said softly.

Brittany watched as Santana slowly stood up, wondering for the first time if their obvious reliance on her was starting to become a burden. The girl looked exhausted and frustrated. They'd all made the decision to follow her lead without talking to her first and the selfishness of the situation suddenly hit Brittany.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Santana told her before walking away.

Brittany simply nodded, watching the smaller girl walk away.

Lost in thought, it was about a half an hour later when Brittany realized Santana had yet to come back. Torn between wanting to give the girl space and worrying that something had happened to her, she made the decided to go look for her.

She started with where Santana said she was going, the bathroom. It was just a door over from where they were, and after assuring Rachel and Mercedes that she was just going to the bathroom and that she had her gun, she left.

Walking out into the deserted hall, she felt her skin prickle. Even though the bathroom was only a few feet away, she was on her guard. She knew for a fact that they weren't alone in here, and she had no intentions of being careless.

When she pushed the door to the bathroom open, she gasped at what she saw. There at the sink was Santana, head bent almost in surrender. The droop of her shoulders and her lack of reaction making her look smaller than usual.

What really shocked her was the sight of Sam standing behind her, gun pressed to the back of her head. She saw his mouth moving and tried her best not to panic as she focused on his words.

"How do you think she'll like it huh? Do you think if I killed you here then your mother would understand what she did? What she took from us?!" The boy asked, his low voice not taking away from the intensity of his words.

"I highly doubt it." Santana answered resignedly.

"Puck was right. Ever since you showed up everything went wrong. Some of our friends were killed in your big escape plan, and then we find out that your mother is responsible for all of this. Our families are gone. Dead! And she doesn't care. I doubt you care!" He lashed out.

"Do you really want to go there? Do you really want to talk about how your friends were killed? Artie in particular?" Santana asked.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" He yelled this time, not bothering to lower his voice.

Brittany watched as he pressed the gun harder against the girls skull, not caring that he was obviously hurting her. Not bothering to think about what she was doing she raised and pointed her own gun at Sam. She knew the minute both occupants became aware of her presence. She watched as Sam turned to her, his eyes wild and unfocused.

"What are you doing Brittany? You would shoot me? For her?" he asked almost hysterically.

"You're not thinking straight Sam. Put the gun down." She ordered the boy.

"No! She has to pay for what her mother did. What she did!" he exclaimed.

"What did she do Sam?" Brittany asked.

"She's the reason Tina and Artie and Sue are dead. She's the reason Blaine was bitten. She's the reason all this is happening!"

"No Sam. She's the reason the rest of us are alive. We were running out of food and ammunition back in Lima. You know it was only a matter of time before we either starved to death or got desperate enough to try and escape and ended up dying anyway. They rescued us. They rescued Stevie. Have you forgotten?" She asked softly, hoping to get through to her friend.

"No. No. We would have been fine. We would all still be together. If it wasn't for her mother we would all be living our normal lives. Her family ruined everything!" he said.

"Sam…" Brittany whispered, knowing she would have to end up shooting her friend. He wasn't listening.

The sudden click of a gun echoed in the sudden silence. Brittany wasn't even aware of Quinn coming up behind her, so intent on trying to get through to Sam. She watched as the other girl pointed her gun at Sam's head and unlike her, Brittany knew Quinn would accurately and unhesitatingly pull the trigger.

"Quinn don't. He has a right to be angry. Let him get it out." Santana halted her friend.

"I heard enough of that conversation to know that not only is he bat shit crazy, but he's ungrateful. We put our lives on the line for them Santana. We could have died and what does he do? He blames us for what happened to his friends?" Quinn asked harshly.

"He blames me, not you guys." Santana corrected.

"That's bullshit. We're in this together Santana. You're not alone. If he blames you then he blames us."

"I can handle it. You two just stand down ok?" she asked.

"No way. I know we made you leader, and feel free to kick my ass later for insubordination, but for now I'm not dropping my guard. He makes one wrong move and it's lights out. I guarantee it." Quinn said looking directly at Sam.

Brittany nodded along with Quinn, also not lowering her weapon. She knew in her heart she would not hesitate to shoot Sam either if it came down to saving Santana.

"Brittany. How can you side with them? After everything we've been to each other you would choose strangers over me?" He asked, looking betrayed.

"They're not strangers Sam. And this isn't about you and me. You're holding an innocent person hostage. You have a gun to her head!" Brittany replied.

"She's not innocent!" he screamed.

By now the yelling seemed to have drawn the others to them. Brittany saw Brody come up next to Quinn, also raising his gun. Mercedes and Rachel were shocked, both were covering their mouths with shaking hands. Puck cautiously went over to his friend, standing next to him in what looked like a show of support.

Brittany remembered Sam mentioning Puck being right and knew this was partially his doing. She knew Santana realized it as well when she glared at the mohawked boy.

"I left my gun next to my pack. I didn't see when he took it. I'm sorry." Mike's said.

"It's fine. I knew he was following me and I didn't stop him. I thought he wanted to talk. Guess I was half right."Santana said.

"Sam put the gun down." Mercedes begged.

"Yeah Sam. Please stop this. We've lost enough." Kurt added.

"Listen to your friends Sam. You won't walk away from this. You're outnumbered." Brody informed him.

Brittany saw the moment the truth hit him. She watched as he began to shake, slowly lowering the gun before dropping to his knees. She watched impassively as the boy began to cry, shoulders shaking with the weight of his emotions.

Mercedes rushed towards him, holding the shaking boy close to her, murmuring words of comfort and reassurance.

Brittany lowered her gun along with Quinn and Brody. They were all stunned when Mike walked up to Puck and punched him squarely in the face, but when they saw him pry his gun from the Puck's hand they understood.

They all walked quietly back to the room they were staying in. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence, still a bit shocked by the events of a few minutes ago.

Mercedes lead Sam over to where she and Rachel had set up for the night, not wanting to let the still distraught boy out of her sight. Puck lagged behind everyone, still smarting from Mike's punch.

Everyone seemed to be wide awake and Brittany watched as Santana walked into the middle of the room, looking ready to say something. She turned her undivided attention to the other girl, waiting for what was to come next.

"I know what happened a few minutes ago was shocking to all of you, but I expected it. Not the gun to the head but the confrontation. I expected it to come from any if not all of you honestly." She said while looking at each of them.

"I know that after learning about what my mother and her colleagues did, I was shocked and disgusted. But all of you were living in horror for six months. You watched your family and friends die because of her. And maybe I didn't plan it well, or I wasn't alert enough, but I do take responsibility for what happened to your friends in Lima." She continued.

"Santana…." Brittany tried to interrupt.

"No Brittany, let me finish." She said quietly. "I promised to get you all out of there and I failed. But I can't dwell on that, because we've stumbled into yet another situation where we have to fight for our survival. You've entrusted me with your lives once again and I promise to try my best to get you safely out of here. I won't promise that I'll succeed; I can't guarantee you anything but that I will fight to the very best of my ability to keep you alive. Even if you hate me." She said looking pointedly at Puck.

"This isn't a world any of us were prepared for. But it's the reality for now and we can't fight against each other when we have bigger problems lurking around every corner. So I want to call a truce. If any of you besides Puck and Sam have a problem with me, we can address it when we get to New York. But for now I need to know that when I turn my back to any of you I won't have to worry about a gun to my head or a knife in my back. Can you all promise me that?" she asked the group.

Brittany would like to believe that Santana wasn't addressing her, that she knew she would never have to worry about Brittany being against her in any way, but she nodded her agreement all the same. It was a relief when the others, including a reluctant Puck nodded as well.

"Thank you. So how about we all get some rest and prepare for tomorrow? Brody and I will take shifts during the night and wake you guys when it's time go."Santana said relieved.

"Santana how about Brody and I do the shifts, you've kinda had a long night." Mike suggested.

"Yeah that's not a bad idea San, you can use the rest." Brittany said quietly.

"Are you sure? I know you like your beauty sleep." She teased Mike.

"I can sacrifice it for one night no worries." He smiled.

"Ok well you guys decide who's getting first shift and…" A sudden knock on the door interrupted what Santana was about to say next.

"Do zombies knock now?" Rachel asked.

"No they don't. It seems we have company."Quinn said raising her gun as she approached the door with Mike close behind her.

Brittany stood next to Santana and raised her gun as well, briefly wondering why the brunette had not made a move to get hers. She didn't voice her question though, determined to protect them both if she had to.

When Quinn cautiously opened the door there were two men standing there. Brittany thought they looked quite mismatched. One looked like a dirty teddy bear while the other one looked like a slimy weasel. She listened as Santana began questioning them.

"Who are you?" she asked guardedly.

"My name is Sebastian and this is my friend Dave. We were wondering if we could join up with you guys?" he asked nervously.

"Join up with us? Why would you want to do that?" Santana questioned.

"Because we were sort of listening at the door. You guys are going to New York right? Where I'm guessing it's safe? We want to get out of here." Sebastian answered.

"Plus we don't really have any weapons other than baseball bats, but you guys have guns. And you sounded like you've dealt with this before. If we work together I'm sure we can all get out." Dave added.

"Please? We're not even from here. We don't know what the hell is going on but we'll pull our weight we promise. You can trust us." Sebastian continued.

"Trust you? Let them in." Santana instructed.

"What?! You have got to be kidding." Puck said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rachel asked worriedly eyeing the two men.

"Thank you so much." Dave said as they entered.

"Brody take them over to the far corner and keep your eye and gun on them." Santana said.

"Wait what? What are you doing?" Sebastian asked as Brody pointed his gun at them and urged them to start walking.

"I'm not gonna leave you out there to become food for those zombies, but I'm also not trusting you with our lives. So just sit quietly while we decide what we're going to do with you." Santana answered.

That seemed to shut them up. Brittany saw Dave, the dirty teddy bear, shrug and followed Brody's direction, while Sebastian glared at Santana, obviously not liking the way he was being treated. The two seemed to have a staring contest, before a shove from Brody got Sebastian moving.

This was a turn of events none of them were expecting. It was relatively easy getting accustomed to Santana and her friends when they first showed up in Lima, perhaps it had something to do with them saving them in the nick of time, but as Brittany watched the two men sit quietly in the corner, she felt uneasy.

This was a different world from Lima. The situation was the same but now there were other people out there, people like them, trying to escape. How far were some willing to go? If Santana didn't have Brody watching them, would the men try to attack them? They said they had baseball bats but Brittany didn't see any. Were there more of them waiting to ambush their group? She wasn't sure of any of the answers, but one thing for sure, the night had suddenly taken an interesting turn.

**A/N: New people?! Who are they? Are their motives really as simple as they said? Can they be trusted? I guess we'll see. And I chose the museum for a specific reason you'll see soon. As always reviews are appreciated. I'll try to be quicker at updating this time around. Thank you for reading :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here's the next installment. Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. Let's dive right in shall we? :D**

Chapter 10

"I think we should help them." Mercedes said without hesitation.

Santana glanced at all those assembled, waiting for their opinion as well. She had put it to a vote as to whether or not to help or trust the two newcomers.

"I disagree. They admitted to spying on us for who knows how long? They could have ulterior motives." Rachel said.

"I agree with Rachel. I mean why spy on us? Why not just introduce themselves and be done with it?" This from Quinn who was still casting suspicious glances at their 'guests'.

"They want something. Their story was too rehearsed. Too convenient." Mike said nodding along with Quinn.

"The big one, Dave, he kept throwing glances at Sebastian. You know like when you're trying to figure out if you're doing or saying something right? I don't trust them." Brittany said quietly.

"Well I think we should give them a chance. The more people we have the easier it will be to get out of here." Puck gave his opinion.

"We can't think in numbers Noah. We have to be smart about this. They're strangers. Suspicious ones at that." Rachel chastised.

"Well they're human beings. I was raised to help people in need. I can't in good conscience turn my back on those two knowing they asked for help. I just can't." Mercedes protested.

"This isn't about your ideals Mercedes. This isn't about religion or hospitality. This is about survival. Just because zombies are out there now doesn't mean we forget the fundamental fact that humans are dangerous as well. Maybe even more dangerous." Rachel said to her.

"I don't think we should judge them based off of those beliefs. I think we should judge them by their actions and so far they've been nothing but nice." Mercedes responded, looking ready to argue.

"Hold on you two. Let's not argue about this." Santana intervened. "Rachel, Brittany, Quinn and Mike believe we shouldn't trust them. And Mercedes and Puck want to help them. So far the majority is against this."

"What do you think Santana?" Quinn asked.

"I think all of you have valid points. But I'm honestly getting a bad vibe from them. Given the situation I think I would get a bad vibe from just about anyone. That's why I need your opinions. You guys wanted me to lead you to New York and I can do that but only with your help. We have to rely on each other and make these kinds of decisions together. So I'm with the group that disagrees." She answered.

"Well majority rules it seems." Quinn said.

"This is bullshit. We didn't take a vote when Santana and her group showed up. Maybe we should have." Puck glared at them.

"Well if we did we would still be right where we are now because they're the best thing that could have happened to us." Mercedes snapped at him, obviously fed up with his attitude.

"Sam what do you think?" Puck turned to his silent friend.

"I really don't care." He answered monotonously.

"Dude come on, you gotta snap out of it." Puck said placing a hand on his friend's arm.

"I said I don't care." He said, shrugging off Puck's hand and walking away.

"Just leave him alone Puck. Not everyone has the ability to be an asshole and not care like you do. He's obviously still taking what happened earlier really hard. I mean he snapped. You saw him." Mercedes scolded.

"He was justified in his actions!" he protested.

"No he wasn't. You said something to him Puck. You wanted someone to do your dirty work for you and you chose him because he trusts you." Rachel chimed in.

"Oh please. He's a man. He can think for himself. Besides, his whole family is gone except for his little brother, he was trapped in a mall for six months, he watched his friends die and he's had to watch his girl get cozy with someone else. Someone whose family ironically is responsible for all the suffering he went through. Say what you want but he was justified in what he did." Puck defended.

"First of all I'm not his girl. Secondly we've all lost something. We've all suffered the exact same fate he has and yet we're holding it together as best we can. Santana is not responsible for what her mother did as much as you want to believe she is. The truth is you have an inferiority complex and Sam was an easy target for your ego. You've always been like this. You call him your best friend but the truth is you're nothing but a bully." Brittany intervened.

"Preach!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"A bully? I worked my ass off to help keep you guys safe and I'm a bully for not trusting these guys? We're debating not trusting them," he said pointing to Sebastian and Dave, "but we blindly put our trust in these people? You don't find it strange that they showed up right on time when we needed them? That her mother is responsible for all of this and we were lead right to her? How do you know we weren't going to be an experiment as well? They practically hand delivered us to the science freaks." He argued frustrated.

"Not this again." Mike muttered.

"We just went over this. We're on the same side. Are you really trying to stir shit up right now?" Quinn asked.

"I'm looking out for my friends. I happen to think we don't need you. We can get to New York on our own, get Summer and Stevie, find a safe place and be done with all this zombie shit." The irate boy answered.

"Get to New York? With what Puck? Do you think Santana and her friends are gonna give us the bus and their weapons and wish us a safe journey?" Mercedes asked exasperatedly.

"We can find our own weapons and transportation. There's a city going mad out there. We just need to steal a van or something and loot one of the weapons stores and be on our way." He said.

"Ok. That's a decent idea." Santana said, surprising everyone gathered.

"Really?" Puck asked.

"Santana what are you saying?" Brittany asked worriedly.

"I'm saying I thought we had called a truce not five minutes ago and now here we are again. I'm sick of it. You and anyone who wants to go with you are free to leave. No one's stopping you." She addressed Puck, gesturing to the door.

Santana watched as he looked to each of his friends, waiting for someone to step up with him. When they all looked away he shook his head and walked over to Sam. She watched as he spoke to the other boy, no doubt spewing all the nonsense he did a second ago and waited patiently to see what would happen next. When the blonde boy shook his head and turned away from Puck, Santana did her best to contain her smirk.

"Ok so you have two choices." Santana said loudly, intending for the newcomers to hear as well. "You can either stay with us until we get to New York and happily part ways or you can go it on your own with those two over there." She finished.

"Wait you guys aren't going to help us?" Dave asked nervously.

"My friends and I don't trust you. And as you can see we have some issues of our own that we need to iron out so really it's best for us to go our separate ways. What we will do is give you guys some food to last you a day or two but that's it." She answered.

"What about weapons?" Dave asked.

"We don't have any to spare." Santana said.

"Didn't you say you guys had baseball bats? Those are useful." Brittany said.

"We don't have them anymore. We uh…had to run when the zombies kept coming. We dropped the bats. It was stupid I know." Dave replied.

"Well we're in a museum so I'm sure you can find something to fight with." Santana said narrowing her eyes.

Looking over she saw Brittany shared the same suspicion. More and more she was starting to believe her vibe was right. Those two were hiding something.

"Well I'm not leaving my friends alone with you so I guess we'll go until we get to New York." Puck said.

"We'll let you stay here with us until the morning and then you're on your own." Santana said to Dave.

She watched as the two men shared a look, communicating something without words. They seemed to have come to an agreement and nodded silently at Santana.

"Brody watch them. Mike will take over in a few hours," Santana instructed, "everyone else get some rest. We leave at dawn."

Everyone silently did as they were told, going into their respective corners and settling down for the night. Santana lay next to Brittany and did her best to close her eyes and rest, but her mind was too much of a mess to really settle down.

She thought of the earlier incident with Sam. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she was scared. She was afraid the boy was too far gone to be talked down. The feel of the gun pressed to her head and being alone with him as he made all his accusations was frightening.

She was pretty sure she would have been able to fight back, but she wasn't so sure both of them would have been able to walk away if Brittany and the others hadn't shown up. And self defense or not if she had killed him, she's certain that his friends would have retaliated.

She startled a bit when Brittany threw an arm around her and paused for a minute listening as the other girl's breaths evened out. She was glad the others had no problem sleeping. Even Quinn and Mike were out already.

She turned silently on her back, careful not to wake the sleeping blonde, and glanced over to the two men that showed up earlier. The fat one was asleep, leaning slightly against the smaller one that was wide awake and taking in his surroundings.

Santana knew the look on his face. He was looking for something specific. She wasn't sure what but she knew they were right not to trust them or keep them on their trip to New York. First thing they would do in the morning was send them on their way. She didn't want them following behind their bus either.

* * *

Before they all knew it dawn was breaking. Santana felt someone nudging her awake and cracked her eyes open to see Mike above her.

"Hey it's time to move." He said softly.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Five in the morning. The sun will rise soon. I figure you would want to move earlier since we've got those guys to deal with." He said nodding towards the sleeping strangers.

"Yeah you're right." She said, dislodging herself from Brittany's hold, noting the other girl was still fast asleep.

Brushing a few stray wisps of blonde hair from her face, she decided to let the girl sleep in a bit longer. Every moment of sleep was so precious right now. She looked over to Mike, ready to deal with the two men, when she caught the knowing look on his face.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

"You two are so cute together." He cooed teasingly.

"Shut up. It's not like we're official or anything." She said nudging him.

"When are you going to ask her?"

"What? I don't know. I'm not sure if she would even want me to." Santana huffed.

"Why wouldn't she?" he asked confusedly.

"Because you know what it's like in the heat of the moment and all that. Who knows what will happen when we get to New York and things settle down. I'm not sure if you noticed but I'm a bit moody and my mother is a maniac. Not something you would willingly want to associate with for too long." She answered.

"If that's what you see then I feel sorry for you. Just don't go assuming things ok? Let her decide what she wants." He cautioned.

"What about what I want?" she asked.

"Oh we both know what you want." He said laughing at his friend's red face.

"Whatever Chang, just let's get this over with." She instructed walking away, neither noticing the pair of blue eyes watching them.

Approaching the sleeping figures, Santana debated on how to handle the situation. If her calculations were correct they should be in New York by early afternoon, barring no obstacles. The food they had with them was enough to last a few days, so they had enough to spare these guys some.

"Mike grab a few tins of food in a bag for them. I'll wake them." She said.

Once Mike went off to gather the supplies, Santana gently shook Sebastian's shoulder. When he stirred she stepped back and watched him get his bearings. When he finally noticed her standing above him, his expression turned belligerent.

"Ready to kick us out?" he snarled.

"More like ready to escort you out but whatever. Wake your friend and get ready." She said.

"Dave. Wake up." She watched as he tried to nudge his friend awake. She raised an eyebrow as the larger boy burrowed further into Sebastian, almost cuddling.

"I said wake up you idiot!" Sebastian snapped, pushing Dave away from him.

"What? What's going on?" Dave asked, looking disoriented.

"It's time for us to go." Sebastian answered, rising to his feet.

"Oh. We're really going?" He asked, still looking groggy.

"Shut up. Yes we are. Now get up." Sebastian ordered.

"But you said…"

"I said shut up!" Sebastian said, grabbing the other boy by the collar and shaking him hard.

The sight would almost amuse Santana if what Dave hinted at didn't send warning bells through her head. Gesturing a subtle shake of her head to Mike, she saw him halt his movements.

"It's quiet enough that you guys can make a run for it. We'll help you get transportation then you're on your own." She informed them.

"Fine. Where's our food?" Sebastian all but demanded.

"We don't have enough to spare sorry." she told them.

"Yeah I'm sure you are."Sebastian muttered, walking towards the door.

Santana paused for a second to wake Quinn and let her know they were getting rid of their guests. After she promised to keep an eye on everyone and get everything in order, Santana and Mike left.

"You guys are making a huge mistake. Some of those guys don't trust you. We would. It would be more of us against them." Sebastian said to Santana.

"I know Puck and Sam don't trust me. I know where I stand with them. You two on the other hand I don't know. Your words mean nothing to me. Keep walking." She urged, gun pointed at their backs.

By now they had reached the stairs to take them to the first floor. The four slowed down as they looked for signs of any danger, specifically the undead. When all that greeted them was silence, Santana urged them onwards, hoping this would be over and done with as quickly as possible. Now would have been a really good time for everyone to leave. But first things first.

"Please you guys can't do this. We won't hurt you." Dave said, a slight tremor in his voice.

For a moment Santana felt her resolve weaken. She wasn't cruel. Sure she did what she had to do but never out of cruelty. This boy, Dave, he seemed genuinely scared. But then she recalled their exchange from earlier and felt herself harden once more. She wouldn't allow herself to be taken in. She would not put her people in danger.

"You should be more concerned about us hurting you. We have the weapons and the numbers." Mike said to him.

"Look just stop. Our decision is final." Santana said quietly now on high alert as they made their way towards the doors that would take them outside.

Before exiting the museum she and Mike scoped out the area, noticing a few zombies ambling up and down the streets. It wasn't a lot but they couldn't risk drawing attention to themselves. After they had walked a good five minutes or so, they made it to one of the main roads.

"Look." Mike whispered, pointing to an SUV closest to them.

As they made their way over, the stillness of the air began to unsettle Santana. She knew a lot of zombies were probably in the heart of the city as well as on the highway, but the highway was close enough that a lot more of them should have been out there.

Wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, she walked over to the SUV, making sure it was clear before signalling to the others. Santana started the SUV to make sure they had enough gas for some of their journey and felt a spike of irritation when she noted the full tank, thinking back on their own depleting levels.

Looking around, she noticed some more abandoned vehicles and made a note to drive this way to siphon as much gas as possible.

"Well I guess this is it. Thanks at least, for helping us find transportation and giving us a place to stay." Dave said to her and Mike.

"You're welcome." Mike answered, and Santana could hear a tinge of regret in his voice.

"Get in the car. We're leaving." Sebastian said to Dave.

"Bye." The larger boy muttered.

As Santana and Mike watched the two drive away, she felt relief course though her that that particular problem was over. As they made their way back to the museum they did their best not to draw attention to themselves. The zombies nearby didn't seem to care about their presence either way and for that they were grateful.

When they got back to the museum, Santana was relieved to see that the group was already downstairs and waiting by the bus. She noted that Brittany had gathered her things and sent the blonde a smile of gratitude.

"We're all ready to go when you are Santana." Brody said already settling into the front seat of the bus.

"Let's get out of here then." She said, and noticed the look of relief and anticipation on everyone's face.

"We found some cars on one of the main roads, let's take a detour there to get some gas then head to New York." She said as they prepared to get on the bus.

The sudden squealing of tires in the quiet morning startled everyone. Looking around for the source of the noise she saw a vehicle barreling towards them.

"Are they out of their minds?" Mercedes exclaimed.

"Why aren't they stopping?" Quinn demanded.

Getting a closer look at the vehicle Santana realized exactly who it was coming towards them. Glancing quickly at Mike she saw that he realized it as well.

"Those fucking bastards. Everyone get out of the way." She screamed at the group, grabbing Brittany and pulling her to the side of the building.

"Brody get out of the bus!" she heard Quinn yell and glanced up in time to see the SUV heading straight for the bus that Brody had yet to exit.

"Shit." She said and took off running to her friend.

"Santana!" she heard Brittany yell for her, but she couldn't stop. She had to help Brody.

Mike and Quinn seemed to have the same idea because they were also running towards him. Finally snapping out of his shock, Brody attempted to move the bus out of the SUV's path. Santana knew it was already too late and could only watch in horror as the SUV slammed into the bus, the momentum taking it all the way into the walls of the museum.

The alarms of both vehicles suddenly went off, not giving anyone time to process what happened. Quinn and Mike made a run for the smashed bus, desperately trying to get to their friend. Santana on the other hand was livid. She marched over to the SUV that was holding the bus in place and yanked open the driver's door.

Seeing a disoriented Sebastian trying to maneuver away from the deployed air bag, she dragged him out by his collar unto the ground and proceeded to kick the crap out of him. She didn't care that he was apparently injured. She didn't care that the alarms were drawing zombies towards them. She didn't even hear her friends call out for her to stop. She didn't care. All she wanted to do was hurt this weasel who had endangered her friends. Who'd probably killed one of her friends.

She felt arms pry her away from her target and struggled to get away. She wasn't finished with that son of a bitch. She wouldn't be done until he was dead. Letting out a feral scream, she wrenched herself away from the person holding her and launched herself at the immobile body of Sebastian. Before she could pick up where she left off, she felt a punch to her gut. Doubling over in pain, she looked up to find a pissed off Quinn staring down at her.

"We don't fucking have time for this. We are two seconds away from becoming breakfast!" She exclaimed.

Looking around the area, Santana focused on the new development. No bus to take them away, the entrance to the museum blocked by the mangled bus and now hordes of zombies slowly coming towards them. Just fucking great.

Nodding at Quinn she avoided asking the obvious question. She wasn't ready for the answer and needed to focus on this new situation.

"Five guns Santana. There's too many of them. We don't have a vehicle anymore and Brody is too injured to make it very far."Quinn said urgently.

"Let me think Quinn. Just give me a minute." She said. At least now she knew that Brody was alive even if his condition wasn't good.

"There are a few vehicles where we came from Santana. How about we go that way and get some?" Mike asked coming to stand next to them.

"Good idea. But first we have to go around them." she said gesturing to the zombies coming from all sides.

"Someone is going to have to stay here with Brody. He can't move."Quinn informed her.

"Ok. Can you and Brittany do that Quinn?" She asked, already running her plan through her head.

"Yeah we can, but what will you two do?" She asked.

"We'll make a run for it. They may be man eating monsters but from what I've seen they're slow. Mike and I can make a run for it and get two vehicles. We'll meet you all back here." Santana said.

"But what about the rest of them? They're sitting ducks." Mike whispered.

"Get them to the bus. If they can stand on top of it out of the zombies reach then that should buy us enough time." She answered.

"And him?" Quinn asked, nodding towards the unconscious Sebastian.

"Leave him." Santana said coldly.

Mike and Quinn glanced at each other before nodding their agreement. Running quickly towards the others, Quinn ushered them towards the bus, breaking one of the windows thoroughly, before urging them to climb. By now both Mercedes and Rachel were crying, sure this was the end for them. Santana was glad to see that Brittany at least kept her composure.

She stood in front of Quinn, gun raised as she became a shield for her friends. Glancing over quickly, her eyes met Santana's and behind the fear there was strength. She trusted Santana to get them out of this situation. The same way Santana trusted her to protect everyone while she and Mike were gone.

Nodding to the blonde, Santana and Mike ran towards the main road, occasionally shooting down a few of the zombies that got too close for comfort. She made a mental count of how many bullets she'd already used, and knew she would have to stop or she would run out. Mike seemed to have the same idea and holstered his, picking up his speed as they drew nearer to the site of the vehicles.

"Damn it." Santana said as they saw the spaces between the vehicles lined off with more zombies.

"I have an idea." Mike said as he slowly started walking towards them.

"What are you doing Chang?" Santana asked.

"A distraction." He said.

"What are you going to do?" she asked skeptically.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I auditioned to be a stuntman?" he asked casually.

"No. What do your weird professional choices have to do with anything?" she asked.

"Well it's no secret that I'm an action man. I'm going to create a diversion by jumping from car to car until I get to one of the furthest vehicles on this road. I'll set off the alarm and draw them to me. Then you can pick two cars and I'll meet you back here." He said grinning.

"That sounds well and good but how will you get back here when you'll be surrounded?" she asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He said before hoisting himself up on top the nearest car. Throwing a wink at a still protesting Santana he was off.

Santana couldn't help but worry about, yet be in awe of, her friend. She watched as he jumped on to several different car roofs. His actions were starting to draw the attention of the undead and some had slowly started following him.

The good news was that no one was paying attention to her. She slowly made her way to the nearest car, cursing when she saw no keys. She continued on, pausing only when her actions seemed to have alerted some that had lingered behind. Holding very still she watched as they seemed to sniff the air, before deciding that whatever it was wasn't worth it.

Breathing a sigh of relief she went back to her task. She knew Mike wanted her to wait until they were lured away but she knew that if she got an early start the quicker they could get this done and return to the others. She wondered briefly how they were faring but didn't dwell on it, determined not to be distracted.

The sudden blaring of a car signaled Mike's success. She quickly locked herself into one of the cars so the sudden swarm of zombies wouldn't see her. Keeping her head down, she counted slowly to fifty, hoping that was enough time to draw them all away.

Glancing over the dash she saw the coast was clear. Well the coast next to her anyway. She could still see them swarming up ahead with Mike on top of the highest vehicle he could find, an ice cream truck.

Quickly running from car to car she checked as many as she could. Some didn't have gas, others were completely locked and those that weren't had no keys. Getting frustrated she slammed her hand on the steering wheel of a car she was in, both startled and relieved when a set of keys fell off of the visor.

"Come on come on come on." she murmured putting the keys in the ignition. When it purred to life and showed a full tank of gas she almost screamed for joy.

Leaving the car running she took off to find another one, glancing quickly to make sure Mike was still ok. He must have felt her eyes on him because he started waving like a lunatic. Shaking her head at his antics, she approached a Hilux Pickup truck. This made her think of Brody and she faltered for only a second. They needed to hurry this up so that they could get back to the others and get Brody some help.

Turning the keys in the ignition she was relieved to hear the engine roar. There was only a half a tank of gas but it would be enough. It was perfect.

Getting out and giving Mike the thumbs up, she watched as he debated what to do. He looked around at the creatures yapping at his heels and back over to Santana before shrugging and leaping off the ice cream truck on to another car. This car was lower and the hands that reached for him were surer than the first time around.

She watched as Mike kicked out at the hands and kept coming in her direction. She held her breath and watched as he kept out of their reach, a little slower than before but still as effective. When they were almost to her, she ran back to the car, gesturing to Mike that the truck was his.

When he finally made it to the truck Santana watched in admiration as he slid through the window on the driver's side, making sure the glass was firmly back up before reaching hands could grab him. They both pulled off the road at the same time, eluding the persistent zombies who still hobbled after them even when they were far from their reach.

Exhaling the breath she didn't realize she was holding, the two headed back to the museum intent on rescuing their friends and getting out of there. When they saw Brittany and Quinn side by side, shooting at the zombies pressing in on them, Santana pressed the horn on the car, trying her best to lure them away. When only a few took the bait, she heard Mike rev the engine of the truck before charging towards them.

Sticking her head out the window she screamed for Quinn and Brittany to get out of the way, watching as the two girls turned and hopped on to the roof of the bus with the others. Mike's truck went barreling into the zombies, sending limbs flying everywhere. He reversed, and Santana watched in disgust as arms and legs were dislodged from the tires. Spinning in the opposite direction, he plowed through more of them with the same result. Realizing that he was clearing a path for her, she quickly urged the car forward, coming to a stop near to the bus.

Quinn and Brittany were the first to jump off, still holding their guns just in case. The others soon joined them and maneuvered their way to Santana's car, being careful to avoid the snapping heads of the zombies. Mikes truck suddenly came to a screeching halt next to them, and she heard Quinn order Puck and Sam to lift Brody to the back of it.

"The car can seat five. Brit you, Rachel, Mercedes and Kurt come with me. Quinn has some Medical training so she'll be better off with Brody. I'll give Brody's gun to Rachel and we'll lead from the front ok?" she asked.

"Yeah that sounds good." The blonde answered.

"Sam and Puck can go with Mike." She continued.

"Brody is hurt really badly; we have to get him help." Rachel said to her.

"We'll stop at the nearest pharmacy or clinic and get some medical supplies. Quinn will have to work with that for a few hours until we can get him to a hospital in New York." She replied.

"Santana we have to go. Looks like our friends have caught up with us."Mike yelled.

"All of you get into the car. I'll go get Brody's gun."Santana instructed.

"He dropped it in the bus Santana. Do we have time?" Quinn asked from the back of the truck.

Looking at the distance between them and the new wave of zombies, Santana debated with herself. It would be better for them to leave and not risk it, but if there's one thing she's learned, it's that there's no such thing as a sure thing. It wasn't a sure thing they would get to New York without obstacles. They needed all the ammo they could get.

"I'll get the gun. You guys circle to the back of the museum and I'll make a run for it and meet you there ok. We'll take the back exit." She said.

"No Santana. I don't think it's a good idea. Just leave the gun and let's all go together." Brittany implored.

"It will be fine Brit. Just go before they get here. Mercedes you drive for now. Rachel, hold on to my gun, I'll just keep Brody's." She said handing her gun off to Rachel.

By now the zombies were only about twenty feet away. Santana quickly urged them to go and watched as they reluctantly followed her instructions. Just before she turned away, Brittany ran to her and pulled her into a firm kiss. Santana could almost taste the fear and worry from the other girl. In the kiss Brittany was pleading with her to be safe, to come back. She just hoped the other girl could taste the promise on her lips. Pulling away with one last look, Santana pushed Brittany towards the car.

She only heard both vehicles drive away as she turned to the bus. Launching herself through the nearest window Santana set about finding the gun. She looked at the crushed driver's seat and steering wheel and silently cursed. She could only imagine the state her friend was in. They really needed to get those medical supplies. She knew they had bandages and pain killers but she doubted that would be enough to treat Brody.

Finally spotting the gun on the floor next to the pedals, Santana rushed for it. Holstering the weapon to her hip, she cautiously looked out the window. Seeing the zombies were still about 10 feet away she jumped out and made her way around the bus towards the back of the building.

She didn't make it very far before pain exploded in her head, only having enough time to make out the bloodied face of Sebastian before everything went black.

**A/N: Will Brody make it? Will Santana? Where's Dave? What will Sebastian do? So many questions.**

**A/N 2: I was wondering, do you guys want to see what happened with Brittany and the others while Santana and Mike were away or should we just get on with it lol? Let me know. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you for reading :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hello there. It's been way too long hasn't it? Thanks for being patient. I'm dusting off my writers cap so this chapter isn't as long, more like a mini chapter really, and truthfully I'm trying to remove the writer's block I have by getting reacquainted with these characters. We'll get there eventually. But for now let's re-enter this nightmare shall we? **

**Please forgive any typos that got away. **

**Chapter 11**

"Where the hell is she?" Brittany muttered, anxiously scanning the direction Santana should be coming from. It had already been five minutes and she could tell the others were getting as nervous as she was.

Not only were they worried about Santana, but they were worried about the horde that was close by. Any minute now they could descend on the group and she wasn't sure they had enough fire power to hold them off. It would be a choice of fight or flight. Flight would involve abandoning Santana and Brittany just couldn't do that.

"What the hell is that?" Mercedes exclaimed. Brittany turned to see her looking at a figure stumbling slowly towards them.

Raising her gun she prepared to dispatch the zombie. She didn't want to draw the others to them, but she had no choice but to shoot it. Just as she took aim the figure started waving its arms.

"Do zombies do that?" Mercedes asked.

Taking a closer look at the figure, Brittany realized it wasn't a zombie after all. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse.

"It's Dave." She said expressionlessly.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Quinn exclaimed, gently easing away from where she was holding Brody to stand next to Brittany who was already out of the car.

Mike also came to stand next to both girls, worry and anger clouding his features. They watched as Dave slowed down as he got near them, seeing the unwelcome look on everyone's faces.

"I uh, came to warn you guys that Sebastian was coming back but I'm guessing you already knew that." He said, fidgeting a bit as they all stared him down.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here." Quinn said, barely containing her rage.

"I came back to warn you. Sebastian is crazy!" Dave exclaimed.

"And you're his friend so what the fuck does that say about you?" Quinn continued, bearing down on him.

"I'm not his friend." Dave denied, backing away from the advancing blonde.

"Oh really? Well that's just convenient isn't it? Since he's not here to back you up and all." Quinn said, finally reaching the large boy.

Brittany watched as Dave backed away from the enraged girl. It would be hilarious given their difference in size, if the situation wasn't so horrible. As the minutes ticked by with no sign of Santana, and Brody barely hanging on, the dread that she was trying so hard to contain was beginning to surface. They needed to leave and they needed to leave now.

Marching up to where Quinn was still arguing with Dave, Brittany pointed her gun directly into the middle of his forehead. Quinn's tirade ceased abruptly as she watched the usually sweet girl glare icily at the boy.

"What was your plan? I want to know what you and Sebastian planned to do with us when you got back here because right now one of our friends is barely alive and another, my fucking girlfriend, is missing. So you're going to tell me what you planned to do because there is no way you're not responsible for this." Brittany said with as much calm as she could muster.

Dave held both his hands up in supplication, beseeching eyes begging the blonde not to hurt him. There was no sympathy in her icy blue eyes, and turning to the other girl there was no sympathy in her eyes either.

"Sebastian was angry that you wouldn't help us. There wasn't even a plan. He just wanted to hurt you and steal your supplies. I told him not to, that we had enough to get to the city but he wouldn't listen. I told him I wasn't going to help him and he threw me out of the car. He's crazy." Dave whimpered.

"Really? He threw you out of the car?" Mike asked skeptically, running his eyes over the boy's less than small figure.

"Hey I was as surprised as you, but he's really strong and really angry. Especially at the Latina chick, Santana was it? He kept saying that he would make the bitch pay. His words not mine!" Dave hurriedly clarified as Brittany's gun pressed deeper into his forehead at the slight on Santana.

"We have to go back." Brittany told the others. Hearing Dave's story made her completely sure that Sebastian had somehow gotten to Santana. If it were the undead then they would have heard shots fired. Santana was fast, she could outrun those monsters no problem.

"Are you crazy Brittany? You saw those things coming towards us. You want to walk right back to them and say 'hey excuse me, yeah let me just pass right on by you there, thanks'" Kurt asked dramatically staring incredulously at his friend.

"We have guns. We'll fight our way through." Brittany shot back.

"And let's say we do that, how do we get to New York with little to no ammunition, provided of course that we actually survive?" Kurt continued.

"I don't know Kurt! I just know that Santana is in trouble and she needs us. We can't abandon her. She wouldn't abandon us!" Brittany almost yelled, trying to keep her fear under control.

"Look Brittany, I know you like her. We all can see that you two have something but we have to think of the group as a whole and not just one individual. Santana herself said we should leave." Kurt tried to reason.

"Fine. You guys go. I'll go get her myself." Brittany said, marching determinedly back to where they were earlier.

"Hold on girl. You're not going anywhere without me. Santana is one of my best friends. No way I'm not going back to save her." Mike said cheerfully sliding next to Brittany, who would have been fooled by his smile if not for the steel in his eyes.

"Yeah. What he said. Besides this is my chance to add number ten to my 'how many favors does Santana owe me?' list." Quinn said, coming up on her other side.

Brittany smiled at the two of them gratefully. She was prepared to do this alone but she was thankful and relieved she wouldn't have to. She should have known Santana's friends would never abandon her. They had all walked into hell together, and she was quite sure if Brody was able to, he would be right there with them.

"Hey Rachel, look after Brody for me will you? If we're not back in ten minutes, you guys head out. We'll catch up to you when we can." Quinn instructed them, slipping into the role of leader in the absence of Santana.

"OK. You three please be careful. And bring Santana back." Rachel said with quiet determination.

"Four actually. Our friend Dave is volunteering as well aren't you?" Mike asked the boy, who stood silently off to the side obviously hoping no one would remember him.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Dave answered reluctantly, knowing he really had no choice.

Mike gestured with his gun for Dave to lead the way. The larger boy stumbled forward, not making eye contact with any of them. That was just fine with Brittany. As far as she was concerned he was nothing but bait for the zombies or Sebastian, she didn't care which.

As the four cautiously made their way to the front of the museum, Brittany could hear the eerie moans of undead. She felt a shudder run down her spine as they shuffled aimlessly, looking for prey.

"I don't see her anywhere. Do you think she could be inside the bus?"Mike whispered, looking past the horde to the mangled bus.

"I doubt it." Quinn answered gesturing to the zombies that currently inhabited the bus. "And if she is well….".

"She's not." Brittany said with conviction, refusing to entertain the idea that those things got to Santana.

"Ok, so where the hell could she be? Those things are everywhere. We need a plan." Quinn continued.

"Hey take a look." Mike said, pointing towards the building.

Brittany and Quinn followed the direction he was pointing in to see the outline of two figures inside. Squinting against the light and glare from the windows, Brittany couldn't really tell for sure who they were, but the animated way they moved indicated that they were definitely living.

"Can you tell if it's her?" Quinn asked.

"I can't make out who it is for sure but it has to be her. We were the only ones there last night." Brittany answered.

"It's them." Dave said quietly.

"How do you know?" Quinn asked, sparing the boy a disgusted glance.

"The clothes Sebastian is wearing. I bought him that shirt when we were sightseeing."Dave answered.

"I thought you weren't friends?" Brittany reminded him.

"We're not. Not exactly. This was sort of a blind date." Dave confessed, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Not exactly a match made in heaven is it?" Mike asked, brows raised.

"Well we kind of only saw each other for the first time the other day. We met online. And I'm sure you can imagine he was a bit disappointed when he saw me. I'm not exactly easy on the eyes." Dave told them, gesturing vaguely to his appearance.

"Well I'm sorry you had to stay with a shallow weasel, and I hate to interrupt your self-deprecation, but right now we need to get in there and save our friend." Quinn snapped.

Brittany nodded, agreeing with Quinn. She felt a bit bad for Dave, and if they managed to get out in one piece maybe she could persuade the group to let him come along with them, at least until they got to the city. He suddenly didn't seem quite as bad as Sebastian.

"Yeah sorry. I just can't believe this is happening. It's like a video game isn't it?" Dave asked nervously, looking at the horde that suddenly seemed to have moved closer to them.

"Tell me about it." Mike muttered, silently scanning the area looking for openings.

"Shit what's going on in there"? Quinn asked, watching as the two figures went at each other.

"That's Santana all right. I'd know that move anywhere." Mike whispered excitedly.

"What move?" Brittany asked anxiously, watching as Santana and Sebastian attacked each other.

"She's small, and when you're small you have to have tricks, and Santana has a lot of them. That's the "Make them think I'm weak and strike when they get close enough" move. I helped her with that one." Mike answered smugly.

"We have to get in there. We're not the only ones interested in what's happening." Quinn said, watching as a few of the zombies began turning in the direction of the fight.

"We need to maneuver around all those zombies. Or get them away. I don't see how we can do that. We can't waste the ammo and the four of us won't be enough to stop all of them. We don't have any grenades and we don't have an extra vehicle." Quinn said, trying to formulate some kind of plan and coming up blank.

"I…I can create a diversion for you. This is my fault as much as Sebastian's. You helped us out last night and this is how we repay you. I'm not much of a fighter but I do know how to make a scene." Dave said, smiling crookedly.

"No offense, but there's like fifty of them and one of you. They would probably shred you in seconds and come right after us. So no." Quinn said, voice softening just a bit at his willingness to go that far.

"Yeah ok. Just wanted to help." Dave said, not hiding his relief.

"We're running out of time and I can't see them anymore." Brittany said, noting the two figures had disappeared.

"Damn it where did they go?!" Quinn exclaimed, scanning as much of the building as she could.

"I don't know. But it can't be good. We need to do something." Brittany said, readying her gun as she stepped around the wall.

"Brittany what are you doing?" Quinn hissed, noting they were starting to draw the attention of the horde.

"I'm not sure but I can't not do anything. We're running out of time." She said angrily.

"Shit." Quinn said, as she watched the horde move determinedly towards Brittany. This was bad.

"Well I guess this is our cue. Wouldn't be an adventure without a little excitement." Mike smiled at Quinn as he went to stand next to Brittany.

"I'm no hero but if I'm going to die I'm not going to die a coward." Dave said as he moved past stunned blonde.

"Great. It's the apocalypse and I'm surrounded by crazy people." Quinn grumbled as she took her place next to them.

"Hey." Brittany said nudging her. "It's like Coach Sue always said. If some freak act of voodoo by the other team means you're about to lose, you better go down kicking and screaming."

"I'm not sure that applies here but I get what you're saying." Quinn laughed, not caring how hard since those things were advancing towards them anyways.

All four stood next to each other with their guns raised. Logically they knew they didn't stand a chance in hell, but they knew they had to do something.

"This is not a suicide mission. I don't know how but we're getting to that building one way or another." Mike said confidently.

"You two know how to think on your feet right? Consider this a military exercise. Our objective is that building and this is literally life or death. We'll watch each other's backs as much as we can but get to that building." Quinn instructed.

"Yes ma'am!" She heard Mike cheerfully salute.

"Here they come." Brittany warned, getting ready to pull the trigger.

The sound of gunshots rang through the air, echoing loudly in the distance. The four watched in shock as the horde came to a collective halt, heads twisting in the air to locate the direction the shots came from.

Just then, two more shots rang out, and the group watched in horror as the giant window at the front of the museum shattered into thousands of crystalized pieces. The commotion was enough to dismiss the quartet as the horde turned in the opposite direction, heading towards the now open museum, seeking the source of their invitation to feast.

"No no no! We have to stop them!" Brittany yelled.

"Brittany stop! It's too late!" Quinn said, holding on to the girl as she struggled to go after the retreating horde, who didn't as much as look in her direction.

"Hey isn't that your friend?" Dave asked pointing to the bare window.

The other three turned to where he was pointing to see the bloodied Santana leaning heavily against the bannister of the stairs. They watched as her eyes widened at the sight of the invaders heading straight for her, some already passed the window, bearing down on her. They watched as she turned to climb the stairs, aiming to put some height and distance between herself and them.

Brittany couldn't contain her scream as they watched Santana lose her footing, falling just as the closest zombie lunged at her.

**A/N: Just how does Santana get out of this one? **_**Will**_** she get out of it? Even I don't know….**

**Reviews are always welcomed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi Guys. It's been a while I know. Writers block and real life are a bitch. Anyways, I won't keep you waiting anymore. Here's the next chapter. Again, Sorry for the long wait.**

Chapter 12

Santana could almost believe she was back at the base in the early hours of the morning before training. There was a sense of peace surrounding her and she almost felt relaxed as she laid on her back. The distant groans and the pounding head took away from the dream though. She held her body still, trying to remember what happened and where she was.

All she could recall was sending the others ahead while she went back to get the gun. Then nothing. She tried to get a feel of her body, trying to pinpoint any pain other than her head, to see if she had been bitten. When the only pain she felt was the persistent ache in her head she let out a faint sigh of relief.

"Finally she's awake." She heard someone say sarcastically. The voice sounded familiar but she just couldn't place it.

"Don't ignore me. I know you're awake and I'd like a bit of your attention if you don't mind." The man said, aiming a kick to her ribs, the sudden pain forcing her to open her eyes and curl in on her side.

"There we are. Hello Santana. Had a good nap?" Struggling to lift her head, she finally put a face to the voice.

"Sebastian." She gasped, everything returning to her at once.

"I was worried I had hit you too hard. You've been out for about twenty minutes." He informed her, smiling smugly.

"What do you want?" she asked, sitting up straighter still holding her side. She hoped desperately that her ribs weren't broken.

"What do I want? That's a good question." he said, circling her. "Let's see, we came to you for help and you turned us away. That's what I wanted. A way to get out of here away from those freaks. But you wouldn't help us. So now what I want is to see you suffer. To watch those things rip you apart. Then I'll be on my merry way out of here." He finished smiling.

"You're crazy you know that? We gave you food we couldn't even spare. We risked our lives to help you get transportation out of here. We didn't have to do any of that but we did." She retorted, glaring defiantly at him.

"You sent us to certain death. Do you really think me and Dave could make it on our own? There are thousands of those things. Up until we met your group we thought we were the only ones left." He snapped.

"Where is Dave?" she asked, looking around, wondering if there was an ambush to come.

"Probably zombie food by now. He was only slowing me down. He isn't built for a world like this unfortunately." Sebastian answered nonchalantly.

"You killed him?" She gasped in horror.

"No. I kicked him out of the car. The zombies probably killed the poor guy."

"It's the same thing. You're a monster." She said quietly.

Santana watched in surprise and growing unease as Sebastian threw his head back and laughed wildly. There was something disturbing about him. The careless disregard for someone else's life. The way he ignored the horde trying to get pass the broken bus in order to get to them inside the museum.

Santana wasn't sure how he got them back inside quickly enough to escape them but she knew she was trapped indefinitely, or until they got bored and wandered off in search of new prey. She prayed Brittany and the others had the good sense to leave. Between Sebastian and the horde, there was no way she was getting back to them any time soon, if at all.

"Hey!" Sebastian snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Did I hit you over the head too hard or something?" he asked.

Santana glared at him silently. She may be trapped but there was no way in hell she'd allow this weasel to hold her hostage. She needed a plan. If she could find a way to escape Sebastian and somehow get around the horde, she could head back to the highway and find some sort of vehicle to meet back up with the others.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Sebastian asked as he squatted down to her eye level.

"Just wondering what your plan is. We're trapped in here in case you didn't notice." She answered.

"Oh I noticed. But you don't have to worry about that. I'll make my way out of here, while the zombies feast on you. It's almost a shame." He said as his fingers caressed the side of her face.

"Aren't you gay?" Santana asked, slightly alarmed by the appreciation she saw in his eyes.

"Oh very much so. Doesn't mean I can't admire what's in front of me." He replied smirking. "Don't worry though. As much as I admire, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to get it up, so no fear in that area for you."

Santana would never let on how relieved she was to hear that. She had enough to worry about without the threat of rape looming over her. She really needed to get a move on. Sitting around helpless was never her thing. With Sebastian's single minded attention on her it was hard to work on an offensive.

As if the universe heard her silent plea, one of the zombies somehow managed to get passed the bus. As it slowly ambled over, she waited for Sebastian to turn his attention to it. He might plan to make her zombie food but she was almost certain he wasn't done taunting her. He seemed to like the sound of his voice.

As the zombie got closer, she watched as he turned to it, raising the gun he had hidden in his jacket, ready to dispatch it. She quickly leapt at him, ignoring the pain that shot up her side, her foot connecting between his slightly spread legs. She watched as he dropped to the floor, the gun landing a few inches from his writhing body.

Santana didn't stop to think, she ran towards the gun, grabbing it before Sebastian managed to. As the zombie came bearing down on her, she aimed a kick to its sunken mid-section, noticing to her disgust that her boot came away with a good amount of guts on it. Sebastian reached out then, grabbing on to her leg in a sudden burst of strength, but Santana was running on pure adrenaline. She quickly twisted in his grip, bring her other foot around to connect with his face. She heard the satisfying sound of a crunch that signaled a broken nose. She watched as he howled in pain, clutching his bleeding nose, one hand still nursing the sensitive area between his legs.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be moving any time soon, Santana turned towards the entrance, noting to her horror that at least three more zombies managed to slip through while she was distracted. She lifted the gun ready to dispatch them as quickly as possible, but to her surprise and horror she was met with the sound of an empty barrel. Swearing under her breath and ignoring the sound of Sebastian's taunting laugh, she dropped the gun and launched herself up the stairs leading to the top levels. Sparing only a brief glance at Sebastian, she knew she couldn't help him. The zombie she'd kicked away was only a few feet from him, the others also making their way towards the easier prey. Feeling only a vague stirring of regret, she headed to the second level.

Pushing the bathroom door open, Santana took a moment to wash her face, trying to get her bearings. She couldn't go through the front entrance that much was certain. She had no weapon and her ribs hurt like a bitch. Sighing she turned to leave the bathroom, determined to find some way out of her predicament.

Walking along the hall Santana took in a few of the exhibits hoping to find something to use as a weapon. She knew the antique guns were useless so didn't even consider those as an option. She was still looking at the different displays when she heard a sound coming from one of the doors leading into the back offices.

Listening closely, she tried to make out the sound wondering if there might actually be more survivors in the building. She placed her ear against the door hoping for an idea of what was behind it. She heard the thumping again and slowly reached for the knob. Before she opened it she called out.

"Hello?" she called softly hoping if it was in fact people, they would be comforted knowing it was another human being on the other side.

"Is anyone in there? I'm not going to hurt you." She continued, inserting a gentle tone to her voice.

When all she heard was more rustling and movement she backed away. If there were people in there, they would have answered she reasoned. This wasn't a time for taking chances. She turned to go but the sound of scraping stopped her. Even though her mind was screaming at her to leave, she couldn't ignore the fact that someone could be alive and hurt, unable to cry out for help. Helping people was what she did. Ignoring the screaming alarm in her head, she slowly eased the door open, hoping to get a glimpse of that was behind the door. To her horror, the slight opening of the door was enough for the half dozen zombies to push into in order to free themselves.

Falling onto her back, Santana scrambled to drag her body away from the advancing zombies, the pain in her ribs making it difficult to move fast enough. Struggling to her feet, she barely managed to move away from them in time before one snatched at where her feet had just been.

She turned and ran as fast as her body could take her, which wasn't very fast at all. It hurt to breathe and she was close to collapsing from the sheer pain and effort to get away. She silently berated herself for her error. If she survived this she wasn't going to be this naïve again. So caught up was she in her pain and musings that it took her a while to realize she was boxing herself in. Instead of running towards the exit, she had run deeper into the museum, the zombies relentlessly on her trail.

Looking around desperately for some sort of help, she almost overlooked the gleaming metal encased in glass a few feet ahead of her. Not stopping to consider her actions, she charged towards it, using her momentum to punch through the glass, breathing a painful sigh of relief when it gave way and shattered around her fist. Ignoring the pain and blood dripping from her hand, she grabbed on to the hilt of the sword with her good hand, praying to any god that would listen that it was sharp.

Turning just in time to greet the nearest zombie, she raised and brought the sword down towards it, feeling a thrill of satisfaction when the head was severed cleanly from the body. Ignoring the snapping head, she leaped towards the others, hoping she had enough strength to dispatch them all. Silently thanking her parents for her fencing lessons as a child, she slashed her way through the remaining ones, twisting and turning out of their reach, impaling them through the head as they all fell at her feet.

She fell to her knees in relief as the last body hit the ground. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She thought of Brittany and the others, wondering how far they'd gotten, hoping they were safe and that Brody was still alive. There was no food that she knew of in the museum but she figured she could survive another night there, waiting out the horde before attempting to escape. Her body really wasn't up for anything else at the moment. He ribs were on fire and her hand was throbbing.

Glancing at the sword in her hand she let slip a tiny hint of a smile. It was flashy and old school and really, for a museum display, she was surprised it was sharp. Getting to her feet, she walked back over to the display and eased the scabbard from the velvet it rested on. She was pretty sure Mr. Jackson wouldn't mind her borrowing his sword to protect herself and her friends from danger. She rather thought he'd be proud. She sheathed the sword, and slowly made her way to the exit. She needed to find somewhere to lock herself in for the rest of the day and night, but first she needed to look after her hand in the bathroom. She didn't want to risk the smell of her blood attracting any other zombie that was trapped up there with her, if they could smell blood that is. It was hard to believe they'd managed to spend a whole night up there without running into anything. She put it down to luck and hoped there was still some left to get her out of this.

She carefully picked the glass out of her injured hand, for the first time really looking at the extent of the damage. Some of the cuts were deep, and the blood seemed unable to stop its flow. She was definitely going to need stitches and a bandage, but had to satisfy herself with tearing away the bottom of her shirt, using it as a pseudo bandage until she could get some actual first aid. She hoped it wouldn't get infected until then. She was examining the newly wrapped hand when the sound of her name drew her attention.

"Santana!" she heard the voice, cursing silently when she realized it was Sebastian. "Where are you? Come out here and face me you bitch!" he screamed.

She gathered up the sword and cautiously made her way out of the bathroom. She didn't have to go very far before she came across him. It took her a minute to register what she was seeing. Before her stood Sebastian, but it was obvious he was on his last legs. She saw what she was sure were zombie bites on his arms, the left arm so mangled it was barely attached to his shoulder. He was dragging his right leg behind him, no doubt it too was chewed up. Glancing at his chest she saw his shirt had been clawed away, a gaping wound bled profusely at his side. She was most disturbed by his eyes however. There was not an ounce of humanity in them. No fear or pain registered in them as he slowly made his way towards her. All she could see was single minded hatred. He was determined to kill her, she saw that.

Santana couldn't help it. She felt pity for him. It really was never her intention for it to get this far. She'd helped him and his friend, pretty sure if they stayed in their car and followed the road that they would make it out of there. With a bus full of kids who barely had any combat experience, and hardly enough food to sustain all of them, she'd done what she thought was best, especially since they'd basically put their lives in her hand when they trusted her enough to lead them. But now looking at him she wondered if maybe she had been too harsh. Should she have tried saving him and his friend? Should she have allowed them to come along? Was this her fault?

So caught up in her regret, she almost missed the gun he raised. Body going into survival mode, she threw herself to the floor, barely dodging the bullet he hadn't hesitated to shoot.

"I thought there were no bullets in that gun!" she exclaimed.

"The bullets were in my pocket, thanks for leaving the gun behind by the way." He replied, a manic gleam in his eye as he took aim again.

Swearing, Santana raced towards the stairs, hoping he would follow. There was nothing she could do for him now, but she was desperate enough to use his situation to her advantage. She remembered something Rachel said while reciting everything she knew about this museum. There was another exit. A small exit that lead toward the side of the building. She figured she had enough energy to make it to the highway, considering the majority of the zombies should be in front of the building by now. And Sebastian? Well he was just the distraction she needed to get away.

Crouching at the side of the bannister, she waited for him to get to the top of the stairs, remembering all the times she and Mike would spar and he'd taught her how to fight dirty. When she saw him appear, she saw the smug look he sent her, thinking she was in pain as she held on to her damaged hand. As he came towards her, she held out her foot, tripping him as he got near. Losing his balance, he flailed about wildly, the gun going slack in his hand. With a cry of rage he tried to angle his hand toward her, the useless arm dangling at his side making him look almost grotesque. Santana reached out quickly, hoping to snatch the gun before he fell, but she hadn't counted on his strength. Struggling a bit for control of the gun, Santana realized only her grip on it had prevented him from falling. Giving a mighty tug, Sebastian angled the gun towards the glass. Santana saw what he was about to do before he pulled the trigger but she was too late. She watched as the huge glass that separated what was outside from what was inside shatter into a million pieces.

Santana grabbed for the gun again, another shot going off wildly before Sebastian gave a mighty tug. Freeing himself from her grip, she watched in shock as he raised the gun to his head, the savage smile telling her he thought he'd won. There's no way she could escape the dozens of zombies making their way through the now opened area. She watched detachedly as he squeezed the trigger ending his own suffering. The body fell to the bottom of the stairs promptly set upon by the nearest zombies.

Shaking with fear and adrenaline, Santana turned to head back up the top stairs. There was no way she could get to the side door. She could have done it had her plan worked. Sebastian's body was supposed to distract the five or so Zombies that had made it passed the bus while she made a dash for the other door. But there was no way she could get around the horde pouring into the building. No way. She was trapped.

Before she turned fully, she saw that the gun had somehow remained on the stairs. Ignoring the zombies that were stretching for her, she slowly made her way towards the gun. As she reached for it, the pain from her ribs sent her crashing to her knees. She fell a few steps below where the gun was resting, but grabbed on to the bannister before she could hit the bottom. Pulling herself up, she turned to head back up the stairs, trying to evade a few of the stronger zombies that had somehow made it up the first two steps. She was so intent on getting back up that she failed to notice the trail of blood from Sebastian's earlier fall near her feet. Taking the first step, she slipped on the blood and went tumbling to the bottom of the stairs.

In those moments she thought would surely be her final ones, she thought she heard someone scream her name. That someone sounded suspiciously like Brittany but Santana knew it couldn't be. Brittany had to have left by now. She told them to leave if she didn't return in time. As she watched a few zombies lunge towards her she thought of Brittany. How fitting the final voice she'd imagine was hers. She thought of her eyes, the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. She thought of her smile, her golden hair, how caring she was, how nurturing. She would regret not getting to spend more time with Brittany. She was pretty sure she was in love with the blonde. She wished she could have told her.

Making one last feeble attempt to get away, she felt something at the tip of her fingers. It was the sword. She hadn't realized it had fallen. It must have been when she and Sebastian struggled for the gun. Grabbing it she aimed for the zombie whose mouth was already open in preparation of a feast. Closing her eyes she plunged the sword through its neck retching as black blood rained down on her. Ignoring the disgusting shower, she dislodged the sword and sent it through its head one last time.

Sure that it was all she would be able to do, she waited for the others to take its place. When no other attack was forthcoming, she eased her eyes open and saw to her surprise that the zombies seemed confused. It was almost as if they were looking for her, heads turning left and right, but none aiming at her. She watched as they dispersed, heading in opposite directions, seeking out more prey.

Santana sat there in bemusement, wondering what exactly had just happened. She was so sure it was the end. They were on her. She'd had nowhere to turn and yet, here she was, still breathing while they swayed and ambled up and down in front of her, ignoring her.

"Santana!" she heard her name once more. This time she knew it wasn't a hallucination. There was Brittany, with Quinn, Mike and someone else she couldn't really make out, running towards her.

Not knowing why the zombies hadn't attacked her, and not wanting to tempt fate, Santana stood up and gestured for them to stop. The zombies had also heard the shout and were slowly turning towards the source, waiting for another indication that food was close by. Santana cautiously sheathed the sword, and managed to get Sebastian's gun.

Slowly, so as not to draw attention to herself just in case, she eased her way through the horde, head down eyes alert. Once she got far enough, she broke into a run, heading straight to her friends. When she got close enough, Brittany ran to meet her the rest of the way, throwing herself into Santana's arms, choking sobs the only sound coming from the blond as she clung to Santana with everything she had. Only the hiss of pain forced her away from the brunette. Taking in Santana's bloody appearance, the makeshift bandage around her hand, and the pain she couldn't mask behind the joy as she stared into those blue eyes, Santana allowed an ecstatic Mike to lift her into his arms like she was some sort of damsel.

Barely sparing a glance back at the Museum they made their way towards the back of the building where their friends were waiting. Santana noted the look of relief on their faces as the group got closer, and she hoped that this was as action packed as their journey would get. She glanced over and saw the tearful Brittany silently watching her. She gave her a smile a reached for her hand, thankful when the blond took it. As they all got settled in the vehicles, Brittany refusing to leave Santana's side even though Quinn was insistent that they put her next to Brody so she could look after Santana's wounds as well, Santana ignored the bickering and wondered just what they would find when they made it to New York. If they made it to New York.

**Santana is ok! For now. If you're a fan of the Walking Dead then you know just how Santana managed to survive. If you're not I'll reveal it in the next Chapter. As always, Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys. So this is a really short chapter. Like a prelude to the next adventure. I'm sorry it's taken so long. Things have been hectic with work and school and life in general. But it's summer now! So things are a little easier so I can now concentrate a bit more on this fic. Here's the interlude! Thanks for the reviews and for reading the last Chapters.**

Chapter 13

Brittany closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the wind on her face. She gently stroked her hand through Santana's hair, lightly enough so she wouldn't wake her. They'd been driving for a few hours now, hardly running into any trouble. It helped that they'd left Washington behind two hours ago. They had pulled over briefly before leaving to get some first aid supplies for both Santana and Brody. Puck and Sam had to dispatch a few stray Zombies but they'd surprisingly met the very alive Pharmacist who'd told them to help themselves to anything as he'd hurriedly gathered up his own supplies and ran.

They'd managed to properly bandage Santana's hand and leg, while Quinn had done her best to clean up Brody and keep him hydrated. The last word they got from the group behind was that he was still alive. That's all they could say. It was obvious if he didn't get help soon he'd die. They all knew it.

"Hey." She felt Santana nudge her mid-section gently, trying to get her attention. She smiled softly down at the other girl.

"Hey yourself. I hope I didn't wake you." She replied.

"No. It's hard to sleep for too long these days." Santana answered as she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position wincing a little as she settled next to the blonde.

"Yeah it is. But it seems the worst is over now. We haven't seen any sign of them for a few hours. So that's good." Brittany said, wrapping an arm around the brunette.

"Yeah. I just hope my mom can sort this out. I still can't believe she's responsible for this. I mean I knew she was dedicated to her job but this is beyond insane." Santana said.

"I hear you girl." Mercedes said from the driver's seat.

"I'm really sorry you guys. I know an apology will never be enough considering what you lost." She said, glancing briefly at Kurt in the passenger's seat.

"Girl you should not be the one apologizing. Those doctors and the military who backed them should be the ones apologizing." Mercedes almost snapped.

"She's right." Kurt said quietly. "You're just as much the victim here as the rest of us Santana."

"Still, she's my mother. I can't help but feel guilty." She said softly.

"They had good intentions. I mean, helping people and their families going through mental illness is really admirable." Brittany said, mostly for Mercedes and Kurt's benefit since she'd already had a similar conversation with Santana.

"Their intentions were good but their methods were bad, almost criminal. There had to be a better way to go about helping people." Mercedes argued.

"I agree. But my mother, actually both my parents, never did anything by halves. So if she was going to do something she was going to do it in the most drastic way possible." Santana added.

"Well it doesn't get any more drastic than cites full of zombies." Kurt said, trying to inject a bit of humor.

"Amen." Mercedes agreed.

The group lapsed into silence, watching the scenery pass by as they continued towards New York, each lost in their own thoughts, as the distant hum of the truck rumbled along behind them.

"I can't wait to see Summer." Brittany said excitedly. Just thinking about her little sister brought a smile to her face.

"Yeah I miss her too." Santana said, smiling at the blonde's excitement.

"It's not been long but I feel I haven't seen her in ages." The blonde confided. She and Summer were practically glued at the hip since this outbreak started. All those months at the mall led to such a strong attachment that Brittany knew she wouldn't be comfortable until she could hold her little sister and make sure for herself that she was ok.

"She's ok you know." Santana said, interrupting her musings. "My mom might be a bit unhinged at the moment but she would never hurt a kid. Summer and Stevie are probably living it up, running wild around the base, having the time of their lives." She finished with a small laugh.

"Yeah I guess I'm worrying over nothing." Brittany admitted.

Santana snuggled more into Brittany's side, while Brittany absently stroked her hair, wondering what they would do once they got to New York. Where would she and Summer live? They had no money, no identification, nothing. Technically she was still a high school student. Summer is supposed to be in school as well. She would most likely have to get a job. But what kind of job could an eighteen year old with no diploma or college education get in order to support two people? The thoughts were starting to make her head hurt.

Then she considered Santana. Would someone like Santana even want to be with someone like her when they didn't have the threat of being eaten alive by rabid zombies? She was in the army, she was beautiful, educated, kind, funny, basically everything Brittany wanted but wasn't sure she could keep. Why would Santana want to be with a technically high school dropout with nothing to recommend her?

As the worries continued to swirl in her head, Brittany almost missed the feather light kiss that was placed on her cheek. Glancing down she saw Santana gazing at her questioningly. She shook her head and smiled at the brunette, content to put her worries to the back of her mind and focus on what was in front of her. Glancing quickly to the front of the car to make sure they weren't being spied on, Brittany leaned towards the other girl and placed her lips gently on to the waiting ones beneath her.

Santana had the softest lips. They were pouty and perfect to rest on. She pressed a bit harder and was rewarded when the brunette parted her lips. Brittany lost herself in the sensations the kiss invoked. It was only when their tongues met and she couldn't contain her moans that the two were abruptly interrupted.

"Hey! This car is strictly pg-13 you two." Mercedes teased, staring at them through the rear view mirror.

Brittany pulled back, laughing as Santana buried her face into her neck. She glanced over at Kurt and her laughter died in her throat. The boy looked almost stricken as he avoided eye contact with her. Brittany immediately felt awful. In all the fear and excitement she'd almost forgotten that they'd lost Blaine a few days ago. The wound was obviously still fresh. Of course Kurt would still be devastated losing his best friend and lover. She remembered how she felt when she thought Santana was gone and could only imagine what Kurt must be feeling, knowing Blaine a lot longer, loving him longer. Catching his eyes when he glanced back at them, Brittany sent him a silent apology. He smiled sadly in acknowledgment, and they all settled in to enjoy the ride.

About an hour later, Mercedes asked Santana what base they were going to, noting that they would be entering the city limits in about an hour. With the afternoon getting later there was a bit of restlessness in the car. Old habits die hard.

"There are a few bases there but I think we should start with mine. That way we'll have somewhere to stay the night even if that's not where they went." She answered "I'll give you directions once we're in the City."

"Cool" Mercedes answered, speeding up a bit.

"We'll be there soon. Then you can stop worrying and we can all relax." Santana whispered. Brittany smiled gratefully and laid her head on Santana's shoulder, figuring she'd sleep the rest of the way. Summer would surely keep her up for hours when they reunited.

Another hour later, Brittany stirred as she felt the car coming to a stop. She stretched slowly and eased away from Santana to look out the window. Now she knew New York was the city that never sleeps, but she wasn't sure it was supposed to be this hectic.

"What the heck is going on?" Mercedes asked in amazement.

"I have no idea." Kurt answered, staring at the chaos in shock.

Santana hadn't said a word. Brittany glanced away from the scene to look at the other girl. She was sitting almost frozen in her seat, staring unblinkingly at what was happening.

"Mercedes make the next right turn. We need to get to the base right now." Santana finally said.

Glancing back, Brittany saw Quinn stand up at the back of the truck, gun in hand, looking at the car as if awaiting instruction. She barely felt when Mercedes hit the gas and sped towards the next turn. She hardly registered the sounds of breaking glass and gunshots as both vehicles tried getting to the next exit. All she felt was fear. She couldn't believe this was happening again. The only thought in her head was Summer.

"Santana…" she whispered fearfully. Somehow the other girl heard.

"I know." She answered.

For the first time in months, Brittany prayed. She hoped that whatever Deity was listening, if there were any listening, that her sister was safe.

**A/N Now we're in New York. What's going to happen? Are the kids safe? And for those that guessed it was the zombie blood that kept Santana alive you're absolutely correct! I'll update really soon. A longer update. It won't be as long a wait as this has been. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Thank you so much for the reviews last Chapter. Here's the new Chapter I promised would be out sooner. I hope you guys enjoy it. The chapters will start getting longer after this as we really get into the meat of the story. I hope you guys stick with me :-)**

Chapter 14

Santana held herself still, listening to the sounds of chaos outside. She didn't want to think it, could barely bring herself to entertain the thought, but the evidence was right in front of her. She'd almost, for a minute, believed it was some sort of protest gone horribly wrong. That's been known to happen. But she highly doubted that protesters, even if they were on opposite sides, would eat each other. Because that's exactly what was happening. The sudden sound of gunfire brought her out of her musings.

Looking behind her, she saw Quinn lower her gun, this just served as confirmation of what was happening. Santana turned back to her group, seeing the look of fear and worry on their faces she made a split second decision.

"Mercedes make the next left turn coming up." she instructed.

"You can't turn that way."Mercedes protested.

"I think in this instance we'll be forgiven for breaking traffic rules." Santana replied.

"Just do what she says Mercedes!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Alright I'm turning." She conceded.

Santana reached over and took Brittany's hand. The blonde had been mostly quiet since they came into the city. She knew it was out of fear for Summer. Frankly Santana was scared as well. New York wasn't supposed to be infected. When they'd first left there to go back to Lima it was Zombie free and relatively peaceful. Her mother had even confirmed that they were heading to New York because it was safe.

Thinking of her mother got her even more worried. Did they manage to leave? How the hell had New York gone to hell so soon? They would only have been there a few hours. The scope of the chaos showed that the infection had been spreading for a while. She needed answers.

"Mike stopped the truck. Something's happened." Mercedes informed them.

Looking back she saw that the truck behind them had indeed stopped moving. Glancing around and seeing no reason they would have to stop, Santana unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to get out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Brittany asked, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"I'm going to go see what the problem is. Wait here I'll be right back." She answered.

"No I'm coming with you. We don't know what's happening." Brittany countered, moving to get out of the car as well.

Santana sighed. She knew there was no way she could convince Brittany to wait in the car. She was quickly learning just how stubborn the blonde was when she wanted to be.

The two cautiously made their way to the truck, guns at the ready just in case. When they got near enough, they saw Mike had left the driver's seat and was in the back with Quinn. Santana instructed Puck to get in the driver's seat just in case and went to see what was happening.

"Santana he just started seizing, we can't go any further with him like this. He'll die."Quinn informed her.

"Shit. Can't you do something for a few more minutes Quinn? We'll be at the base in half an hour at most." Santana asked her distraught friend.

"No Santana. What part of he'll die don't you understand? There's most likely internal bleeding, he hasn't been breathing properly since we left Washington. The fact that he's made it this far is a fucking miracle." Quinn snapped.

"Hey calm down." Mike soothed.

"Our friend is dying. I can't calm down."Quinn bit out.

"That's not what I meant. I just mean we have to stay calm. If we panic we can't think straight. We need to use our heads." He explained.

"I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do. There's nothing I can do without proper medical supplies." Quinn confessed.

"Maybe we can find a hospital or a doctor's office nearby?" Brittany quietly intervened from her post at the side of the truck. Seeing Quinn turn incredulous eyes towards the other girl Santana shot her a warning look.

"Brittany's only trying to help Quinn." Santana warned.

"Where exactly are we supposed to find a hospital or doctors office in that shit storm back there? Did we completely miss the zombies and panicking people? I'm surprised we made it through there without running someone over." Quinn replied.

"Um….not meaning to interrupt, but my fathers and I always vacationed here because of my dreams of one day being a big Broadway star like my idol Barbara Streisand, and unfortunately one time I got food poisoning from a questionable little Bistro on…"

"Oh for the love of god get to the point."Quinn snapped at the smaller brunette, interrupting her ramblings.

"Oh uh, sorry. What I'm trying to say is I know a doctor's office just a few blocks over. I recognize where we are, even though we're facing the wrong way." She reproached, looking pointedly at Santana.

Santana rolled her eyes and looked at Quinn. She was the medical expert after all. If she thought Brody could make it that far then that's what they were going to do.

"We can try."Quinn conceded after some deliberation.

"Rachel come with us. We're at the front so you'll have to lead us from the car." Santana instructed.

"Will you be ok here?" Rachel asked Quinn.

"I'll stay with them." Mike interrupted.

"Come on people you said it yourself, we don't have time. He doesn't have time." Santana said.

She led the way back to the car, Rachel and Brittany behind her. When they got back, Kurt squeezed into the back with her and Brittany, while Rachel sat up front next to Mercedes giving her directions on where to go. The truck rumbled along slowly behind them.

Five minutes later, they pulled up next to a moderately tall building. The inscription read "Dr. R. S. Motta M.D , General Practitioner" imprinted on the door entrance.

"The building is dark and looks locked." Kurt supplied, unhelpfully.

"Well it is after seven. I figured we could break in. We need supplies right? And things look like they're about to go to hell here as well. Might as well stock up." Rachel said sheepishly.

Santana silently agreed with her, but from the looks on the faces of the other three occupants, this was something new for Rachel. She shook her head and opened the door, surveying the area quickly before motioning the others to follow.

When she returned to Quinn's side, she informed them of the Rachel's plan. Getting a quick agreement from Mike and Quinn, they jumped out of the truck.

"Puckerman, you, Sam and Dave stand guard out here. Kurt can you get into the back with Brody? Just make sure he's as still and stable as possible. Mercedes, it's best you go back to the car in case we have to get out of here quick. Keep the windows up." Santana warned.

When everyone conceded without a fuss, even Puckerman, Santana gauged just how scared they actually were. But one thing at a time. They would look after Brody, and then get to the base to find some answers she hoped was there.

When she, Rachel, Quinn, Mike and Brittany reached the door, they paused. It was a basic lock. No dead bolt or anything, which in New York was pretty damn stupid if you asked Santana. Mike wasted no time in kicking down the door. When it gave under his third attempt, the group made their way inside.

"Alright everyone, we're looking for anti-biotics, pain killers, and bandages, basically anything to help with wounds."Quinn instructed.

"And food." Mike piped in.

When they all turned to him in confusion he clarified. "There's a vending machine at the side over there." He said pointing to a corner where a decently stocked vending machine was indeed sitting. "No sense in leaving anything that could sustain us right?" he said, looking meaningfully at Santana.

Santana understood the look. They'd been comrades and friends for long enough that they could read each other. He was on the same page as she was. They would have to leave. New York was falling and they didn't have much time until they would be forced to flee. Nodding silently at him, they left him to sort the machine out while they went for the medical cabinets.

"This place is fancy." Quinn commented, as she rummaged through some drawers. "A Vending machine in the waiting room, a mini pharmacy, that's well stocked I might add. Pretty impressive."

"It has its own operating room too." A voice joined in.

Santana and Quinn rounded in surprise, guns raised and ready as they pointed towards the source of the new voice.

"Please don't shoot me. I'm too rich to die." The voice continued, sounding more put out than scared.

"Come out where we can see you." Santana ordered.

She and Quinn watched as a young woman, around nineteen or twenty, eased out from under the desk that was sitting in the corner of the room.

"Hello." She said, smiling hopefully.

"Who are you?"Santana demanded.

"My name is Sugar. Sugar Motta." She replied.

"Wait Motta? You're the doctor?" Quinn asked doubtfully.

"Oh no. That's daddy. Well it was daddy before…." She suddenly stopped, too choked up to continue.

"Let me guess, one of those zombies got him." Santana supplied.

"Zombies? Is that what they are? Like in the movies?" Sugar asked.

"Something like that." Santana replied.

"Hey we're gonna help ourselves to some medicine ok?"Quinn suddenly said, returning to the task at hand.

"Are you going to pay for those?" Sugar demanded.

"Why? It's not like you need all of it. Just grab some and get the hell out of here. Those zombies travel pretty quickly when you think about it." Quinn replied.

"Quinn." Santana admonished.

"What? She's not safe here. You know that as well as I do. They'll come and tear this place down among other things." Quinn defended.

"I don't have anywhere else to go. It was just me and daddy." Sugar said, beginning to look more frightened.

"Don't you have friends or family that you can escape with?" Santana asked gently.

"No. I went to boarding school. I got home last Summer. After daddy heard what was happening in Ohio and other places he wanted me close to him."Sugar answered.

"Wait it got out? How did he hear about it?" Santana suddenly demanded.

"He's a great doctor. They always called him to other cities for surgeries and such. He was supposed to go to Ohio to see some patients but he wasn't allowed to. They told him that a highly contagious virus was spreading through the surrounding areas, but when he offered to assist, they threatened to arrest him." She said. "He tried calling some of his colleagues in the infected areas, but no one answered. He said it didn't feel right. So he called me home. We've been trying to get some news ever since. Then today when we were having lunch that…thing…came out of nowhere and just bit him." She finished, wiping some tears that had managed to escape off her cheeks.

Santana felt bad for the girl. She was obviously traumatized and trying to be brave. One thing she noted was the time. If her father had been bitten around lunch time then this had been going on quite a few hours. What the hell had happened? Urging Quinn to hurry up, they continued grabbing as much as they could.

"Hey um, I know you guys don't know me but can I come with you? I have a lot of money, I can pay you." She offered hopefully, taking a wad of cash out of her purse.

"You really think money is worth anything right now kid?" Quinn scoffed.

"Well what can I do? You're taking our medical supplies. I think that's a good trade off." Sugar said.

"Look we already have a lot of people with us. We don't have room for more." Quinn informed her.

"Quinn. It's fine." Santana said quietly.

"Are you serious?"Quinn demanded.

"She's alone. We're raiding her father's practice. Any minute now those fuckers are going to meander on up here and possibly tear her apart if they get even a hint that she's in here." Santana snapped, ignoring the whimper from Sugar at her less than gentle phrasing.

"Guys what's going on in here? Aren't you done?" Brittany's voice suddenly cut in. "Oh hello." She said, seeing Sugar standing there.

"Hi. I'm Sugar." Sugar said with a little wave.

"Brittany." The blonde smiled.

"Sugar will be coming with us." Santana informed them, mostly for Quinn's benefit.

"Oh thank you so much." Sugar cried, trying to shove the money at Santana.

"That's not necessary. Like you said, we're taking your father's supplies. It's the least we can do." Santana replied, hauling the bag of medicine she'd gathered on her shoulder. "Let's go, we've been here long enough." She said, walking out.

Ignoring the huff she heard from Quinn, the group of four made their way back to the entrance. Mike was already closing the last of his two bags, the vending machine almost empty next to him. Santana quickly made the introductions for Mike and Rachel's benefit as they quickly made their way outside.

"We almost had to come get you guys. Whoa who's this?" Puck asked, seeing the new member of the group.

"Ok everyone this is Sugar Motta. Her dad owned this clinic but he's gone now. So she's coming with us. Any objections?" She asked, daring anyone to say something.

"No objections boss." Mike smiled, trying to dispel the tension.

"Like you'd care if there was."Quinn grumbled, jumping back into the truck next to Kurt.

Santana sighed. She knew they'd have to address this little issue between them, but right now just wasn't the time.

"Oh is someone hurt back there? I can help. Daddy taught me about medicine." Sugar volunteered.

"What do you know about treating accident injuries?" Quinn reluctantly asked.

"Enough that I can assist you without you having to stop and explain everything." Sugar replied with a cautious smile.

"Fine get up here." Quinn said after a moment of deliberation.

Santana and Quinn made brief eye contact, cautious apologies passing between them, before the groups separated once again to their respective vehicles.

Santana gave Mercedes the directions to the Base. The atmosphere was once again tense. A few times they'd passed a stray Zombie ambling along at the side of the road. The good thing being how few there were the closer they got to the base. She gently squeezed Brittany's hand, noting the slight shaking. Bringing them to her lips, she tried to project a bit of calm into the younger girl. They'd need their wits about them for what's ahead.

As they approached the gates of the base, Santana went on the alert. The entire area was quiet. Too quiet. Even for a strict base like this, there were usually guards at the gate, then at the doors as you went further in.

"Kill the engine Mercedes, we'll walk from here." Santana instructed as they rolled to a stop a few feet from the entrance doors.

"Should I wait here?"Mercedes asked, a little too hopefully Santana noted. Not that she blamed her. It was a good idea though.

"Yeah. Kurt too. Something tells me we won't be here long." She replied. "Windows stay up." she instructed as she and Brittany exited the car.

Mike and the other three boys came to meet them. Sugar and Quinn were still tending to Brody, with Rachel handing them whatever medicine Quinn required. Glancing up quickly, Quinn nodded to Santana. She'd take charge until the brunette and the others returned, and if they didn't, she'd know when to leave. They'd always had a system; they would stick to it this time.

"Alright everyone, we stick together for this. Any movement, any sound, we investigate together. Don't wander off by yourselves." she instructed them sternly, making sure to look at Puck especially.

"What? I'm not stupid." He grumbled.

"That's debateable." She retaliated.

"Whatever." he huffed.

"Let's go. Twenty minutes is the longest I intend to stay here. There are other bases we can try afterwards." She informed them as they made their way into the Base.

As they entered, the first thing Santana noticed was the definite lack of human presence. The halls were empty. The desks, where there were usually at least three people, also empty. There were scattered papers on the floor that showed a lack of organisation she'd never seen before in all her years stationed here. That was proof that whoever had been there had to leave in a hurry.

Santana was tempted to leave now. She could see how this had ended. It was obvious what had forced them to leave. But something stopped her. She didn't know what but they had to keep looking. Ten more minutes at most, and then they'd get the hell out of there.

"This place is deserted." Puck muttered, kicking a few of the fallen papers out of his way.

"Keep looking. Someone might still be here." Mike said quietly.

They continued to look, making as little noise as possible. They checked the mess hall; they went upstairs and checked the different rooms. Some were locked, and they knocked quietly, waiting to see if someone was in there. When none of the doors yielded anyone, they went back downstairs. Santana was about to call it a bust when Sam pushed open a door to one of the last rooms on the floor.

When the group entered, the room was immaculate. Santana noted that it was something like an office with a single wide desk in the middle of a spacious room. The desk was bare except for a single folded paper. Walking over to it, she went to inspect it. The scent of a familiar perfume assaulted her nostrils. Realizing that it was the perfume her mother always wore, she grabbed the paper. Her heart almost came to a stop when she saw that it was a letter addressed to her.

"What does it say?" Brittany asked softly.

Glancing around at the assembled group, she saw that they were all tensely waiting for her to read the letter. Taking a deep breath she began to read the words her mother found time to pen.

_**My dear Santana**_

_**I don't have much time. Emergency evacuations have started. We haven't been here three hours yet and already we are being forced to leave. I took the chance of writing this with the hope that as your mother I still know you as well as I should. I have every confidence that you will make it to New York, just as I have every confidence that this will be the first place you look. After all, the first place any of us look to is home. Let me assure you that the children are fine. They are with me and I have not let them out of my sight. Santana this is much bigger than we realized. When we arrived here, there were already persons infected. This goes beyond my experiments. The CDC mixed up their samples. One of the chemicals used in my original experiments called for a sample only the CDC could provide. A controlled substance that had to be monitored at all costs. It appears that what was sent, not only to me, but to other doctors and scientists around the country, was something that should not have been allowed to see the light of day. I do not have much information about it at this moment, but what I can tell you that this virus, this infection, is more far reaching than any of us know. I'm being called to the helicopters. Santana, I do not know where we are going. I do know that we're heading west. I'm so sorry, I know your friends must be worried about their siblings. Know that I will look after them. Find us Santana. It's not safe for you out there. All my love.**_

_**Your Mother**_

After she finished reading the letter, Santana gently folded it and pushed it into her pocket. Looking at the faces surrounding her, faces with emotions varying from fear to anger, there was only one thought going through Santana's mind.

"Fuck."

**A/N: There we have it everyone. Now we're really going into the apocalypse. Where does the group go from here? Will they find Maribel and the kids? Reviews are always welcomed. Thanks for reading.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay guys. I know you re sick of my excuses. But i m still here and still with this fic. I WILL finish it I promise :D. Thank you for the previous reviews. Here is the next (short) installment.**

Chapter 15

It had been just over twenty minutes since they had read the note from Santana s mother. Brittany wasn't sure what to feel. On one hand she was relieved to know that Summer was safe. On the other hand she wanted to see for herself. She wanted to touch her little sister, see her bright innocent smile.

No one had said much as they went back out to the others. Brittany watched as Santana silently handed Quinn the note and went off to sit by herself. She wasn't all that confident herself right now. West was very vague. Where did they go? Maybe California. But that was so far away. A little closer like Utah? Brittany really hated Geography.

Brittany glanced up in surprise when she heard Quinn swear. She watched as she jumped from the back of the truck and marched over to Santana. She really hoped they weren't going to fight or even argue again. They all needed to be level headed right now. She watched as the two women conversed quietly. She couldn't hear what was being said, but their body language screamed tense .

At this point even Mercedes and Kurt had joined them. They were all waiting for instructions as to where to go from here. The sound of metal clanking together alerted them to the fact that they weren't alone. The zombies seemed to have followed them, or randomly stumbled upon them. They weren't close to them or even seemed to be aware of the gathered group, but it would only be a matter of time before they were noticed.

Sugar let out a fearful squeak and drew closer to Rachel as they watched a group of about five zombies roam around, drawing closer slowly but surely. The rest of the group turned towards Santana, awaiting instruction. Quinn had drawn her gun and was watching their progress as well.

"Get into your vehicles everyone. We re not staying. Don't waste your bullets, let's just drive west until we find somewhere to stop and regroup." Santana said resignedly.

Brittany didn't like the sound of a defeated Santana. She understood how she felt but still, it felt wrong to see her like that.

The group, as silently and cautiously as possible, went to their respective vehicles. As they moved out, the zombies trailed after them, mindless as usual in their pursuit. The car was silent as they drove. Brittany held Santana's hand in hers, offering silent support as the other girl no doubt tried to think of a solution. They had only known each other a short while but Brittany felt like she had known Santana forever. She was confident the brunette would find a solution soon.

After driving for around half hour, she saw the truck pull over. Mercedes stopped as well and Santana jumped out to see what was happening. She saw Quinn say something to Santana and they both turned towards the truck. At first Brittany thought it was Brody and prepared herself for the worst. Then she realized they were both looking at Sugar, who seemed to be smiling hopefully. Brittany got out of the car, curious as to what was going on.

"Sugar says her father has a private jet." Quinn said as Brittany approached.

"We're going west right? If it s the West Coast we can totally fly there." Sugar said happily.

"We don't know where we re going." Santana almost snapped, looking just as lost as she had earlier.

"Well how about we just go west. As west as possible and work our way in." Sugar suggested undeterred.

By now everyone had gathered around. Some like Santana and Quinn were skeptical of this idea but others like Puck and Dave seemed excited by the prospect of flying around on a Private jet.

"Even if we agree to this, where exactly is this jet?" Santana asked.

"Oh it's in our private hangar at the airport." Sugar beamed.

"Private Jet in a Private Hangar? Just what kind of Doctor was your dad anyway?" Mercedes asked suspiciously.

"A good one." Sugar replied.

"Right. Ok guys we can take a vote. All those in favor of the good doctor s jet to go West show hands." Santana said.

Brittany raised her hand and watched silently as all but Mike, Quinn and Sam raised theirs. Quinn still looked hesitant and Mike seemed a bit conflicted. Sam hadn't said much since they read the letter from Maribel. No doubt he was thinking of Stevie like Brittany was thinking of Summer. She hoped he wouldn't attack Santana again.

"Mike, care to share why you're against it?" Santana asked her friend.

"Its not that i'm completely against it. But, who exactly is going to fly this jet? The only capable pilot among us is Brody, but he's not in any condition to do much right now." He said of their comrade who was stable but still unconscious.

Santana nodded in agreement and Brittany could tell she was aware of that issue already. The group deflated a bit, knowing it was near impossible now.

"I can do it." Dave suddenly intervened, looking a bit sheepish.

"You're a pilot?" Quinn asked as though she didn't believe him.

"Well I don't have a license but my brother was and he taught me in his spare time. He wanted us to start a charter company together someday." Dave said, trailing off sadly, no doubt realizing it would always be just a dream now.

"Well there we have it. Lead the way Sugar mama." Puck said obnoxiously.

Following Sugar's instructions, the group set off for the hangar. Brittany could tell Santana wasn't a hundred percent on board, but they really had no better options right now. She watched as the brunette kept reading over her mother's letter, whether it was sentimental or she was looking for clues Brittany wasn't sure.

"I don't know what's going to happen when we get to California. Hopefully the infection isn't there. But if it is..." Santana trailed off, brows furrowed in worry.

"Hey one thing at a time yeah?" Brittany said, putting an arm around her. "We don't know what we'll find so for now let's just get out of here ok?"

"Ok. Sorry I just hate going blindly into things." Santana admitted.

"Well you went back to Lima without a real plan and you saved us. I mean we lost some great people but if it weren't for you and your friends we'd all still be locked in the mall, starving or worse." Brittany said.

"She's right. We're alive right now thanks to you blindly coming back to Lima, it's always great to have a plan but sometimes you got to just have some faith." Mercedes encouraged.

"Yeah I guess." Santana reluctantly agreed.

"It looks like we're here." Kurt said, as the vehicles came to a stop just in front of the locked gates of the terminal.

"White Plains Airport? I thought we were going to JFK or something. I'm getting really suspicious of where this doctor money came from." Mercedes grumbled.

"Does it even matter now? Let's go." Santana said, jumping out of the back seat, holding out a hand to help Brittany.

"Such a gentlewoman." Brittany giggled, lacing their fingers together as Santana blushed.

They met up with the others as Mike and Sam carried a makeshift stretcher with Brody laid out. Everyone else had their guns out and ready, hoping that they wouldn't run into any unwelcome guests.

"Is there fuel in the jet?" Quinn asked Sugar as Puck worked on breaking the lock.

"Oh yes. The Jet is always full just in case we have to leave suddenly." Sugar informed her innocently.

"Right ok." Quinn said hesitantly.

"Got it!" Puck exclaimed, triumphantly holding up the broken lock and chain.

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief and cautiously made their way in, following Sugar towards one of the five planes on the runway.

"Of course she has the biggest one." Mercedes muttered, watching as sugar ran towards "The Sugar Shack".

"Ok let's get Brody in first." Santana instructed, knowing it would take some effort to maneuver him up the stairs and into the Jet.

Brittany watched as the guys slowly positioned the stretcher, taking care not to bounce it too much. Looking at him, she could see Brody did look a bit better. He wasn't as pale as before and for that she was grateful. She couldn't stand it if anyone else died.

"Oh no. Guys we need to move a bit faster. We have company." Puck called out.

They watched in horror as a group of zombies, maybe twenty, came towards them. They must have been drawn by the rattling of the chain since they were all dressed in uniforms and seemed to be coming more from around the surrounding area than outside.

"Lewis!" Sugar suddenly screamed, staring in horror as a zombie, dressed in what was most likely a pilot's uniform, staggered towards them.

Quinn shushed her quickly, aiming the gun at the advancing hoard, and firing with precision. Brittany and the others followed her lead, standing between them and the Jet as Mike and Sam tried to get Brody in. They seemed to be having some trouble because the stretcher was a bit wider than the doorway.

"I'm out of bullets!" Kurt said in a panic, backing away from the few zombies that were closing in on him.

Brittany tried to go to his aid, but some were advancing on her too, and it was all she could do to keep them at bay. Sudden squelching sounds reached her ears and she chanced a look towards Kurt, just in time to see Santana stab through the head of another zombie with her sword. Santana handed Kurt her own gun and continued to slice through as many as she could.

By now the commotion had drawn even more of the infected, and the group started backing away as more zombies came in through the broken gate and advanced on them. Those with guns continued to fire, even sugar who got Mike's gun tried to help, but her aim was a bit unpracticed and off.

"Aim for the head!" Brittany yelled at her, hoping the girl heard her over the shots being fired.

"Guys come on!" Sam yelled out to them, signaling they had gotten Brody inside.

"You kids go on ahead of us." Quinn said distractedly.

"I think she means us." Mercedes said to Brittany, Rachel and Kurt next to her.

Brittany hesitated looking over to Santana. Noticing the Blonde''s stare, Santana yelled at her to go.

"Come on Britt she'll be fine." Mercedes said, grabbing Brittany's hand and pulling her towards the Jet.

A few zombies tried going after them, but were quickly dispatched by Quinn and Santana. Mike had retrieved his gun from Sugar and was doing his part to stop the infected from following the girls. After they entered the Jet, Brittany ran to the nearest window. She watched as Santana and Quinn backed their way towards the Jet, still fighting the oncoming hoard. She also noticed the moment Quinn ran out of ammo. Santana nodded towards the Jet, urging Quinn to retreat and Brittany watched as the blonde reluctantly turned and ran towards them.

Mike and Santana were the only ones left outside, and Brittany couldn t figure out why they weren t coming with Quinn. A few seconds later she got her answer when she heard the Jet hum to life. That seemed to be a signal for the last two to board the jet. Both Mike and Santana abandoned their fight at the same time, running to the jet and entering just as Quinn slammed the door shut behind them.

Brittany was relieved that they were all safe, and still watched from the window as the zombies started scraping at the Jet, trying to claw their way in. She heard Dave yell from the Pilot cabin that they should hold on, and Brittany quickly buckled in, mustering a small smile for Santana and Mike who had dropped into the seats nearest to her.

The group held on as Dave steered the Jet off the runway, a few bumps signaling he had hit a few of the zombies in his way. As they took off into the sky Brittany heard a few sighs of relief that echoed her own. They were still together, still alive. She didn't know what they would find in California, but she sincerely hoped that it was at least still standing.

"California here we come!" Sugar yelled in excitement, and Brittany could only smile wider, hoping that there would indeed be something worth getting excited about when they got there.

**A/N: What do you think the group will find in California? Sugar is just so convenient to have around isn t she? :D Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading.**


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